Twisted Nightmares
by Metropolice
Summary: The attack on the camp was a horrifying event for all the students there. Ragdoll was missing, Bakugo was taken, and many people there were in critical condition. But that wasn't including the only casualty of the attack. Minoru Mineta was killed by a villain in cold blood, and died in the Pro heroes arms. Too bad that Mineta wakes up a few weeks back, right before the exams.
1. I want to be a hero too!

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 1****

****I want to be a hero too!****

* * *

Death.

Death was a natural thing that happened in life and nature. Everyone knew this. It came for everyone eventually, whether they liked it or not. Some people would try to avoid it, or some embraced it.

In the age of quirks, some people lucky enough to develop an anti aging quirk could buy themselves a bit more precious time on this planet. But no one lives forever. Immortal or not, a lucky shot from a desperate thief needing money would easily end someone's life for good. People needed sustenance to survive as well. Immortal yes, but still needed food to live. Though some people could live safely in their mansion with their immortality for as long as they wanted, it wouldn't matter. For death is patient. It is eternally patient, calmly waiting for someone to fall into its cold embrace.

Everyone dies eventually. Either from dangers from the outside world, or by their own hand. No matter how long someone would live, their luck would run out eventually. And when they died, they died. No chance of coming back, or a second chance in life, or reincarnation. Death is permanent, and can't be undone.

Well, it __was __permanent, for a peculiar boy from UA.

* * *

The camp was safe.

It had to be safe, right? The students knew that they were safe in the camp, it was miles away from any major city or village, and they had been assured on arrival that not many people knew of it's existence.

Pro Heroes were watching over them, even the damned Wild, Wild, Pussycats were there. Along with them was Eraserhead himself, and even Vlad King. They had been called to protect the students from harm. There was no way villains could be here. An attack on the campsite was impossible, right? They said it was safe from any villain attack! Or so they thought. They certainly hadn't been safe in the USJ, and everyone knew Aizawa's scars could attest to that. Several students recalled the Pro Hero getting almost killed by the monster known as the Nomu. When they realized that Pro Heroes weren't invincible, it made the threat of villains all the more terrifying. But the heroes and teachers had reassured the students that where they were going, it would be perfectly safe.

But now, they were intruders. People who didn't belong in the camp had infiltrated the campsite, ready to strike against the unsuspecting students of Class A and B A rather large figure holding a large object was creeping behind Pixie, who was completely unaware of the intruder. And it seemed that no one was aware of their presence.

* * *

Mineta Minoru shuffled as he sat on the ground. It was pitch black outside, the only light source being the illumination from the moon that slightly made it less hard to see. The light from the moon only barely reflected off the grapes on his head. The dirt he sat on was still a bit warm thanks to the rather hot weather from earlier during training. It wasn't scorching, but it was no room temperature weather either. Mineta hoped that it would cool down soon. He didn't know when he was up for the whole "Scare contest" activity the Pussycats had set up for their training. _What was it called again? Test of Courage? _He rolled his eyes._ Give me a break. _

Ever since they arrived, Mineta had despised this camp from the start. Not to mention the first day they arrived, it wasn't even at the camp itself. The bus had pulled up besides a rather steep cliff with the only protection from falling being a dinky wooden fence. They were then instructed to make it to the actual camp by _noon_. After that, they all were tossed down by one of the Pussycats, and left to fend for themselves. And while they ran to the camp, they were also being attacked by giant earth beasts created by one of the Pussycats. Other than the fact that task was borderline impossible, it was only thanks to one of his classmates giving a boost to the class morale that they were able to keep going. Besides the fact that their teacher Eraserhead had put them through what could only be described as absolute hell for what he called "Training".

What Eraserhead called "training", was more like_ torture._ Mineta faintly recalled being on his knees as he painfully pulled grapes off of his head and putting them in a little pile, while his blood poured out of his head. _I still don't get how that makes my quirk stronger... _His body had stopped aching a while back thanks to rest and food, but Mineta still felt a small amount of pain from his head. _When I climbed on the bus those few days ago, I assumed this camping trip would be a lot more...laid back. Next time I go to a UA based activity like this, I'm reading the brochure._ He glanced over to his classmates who were either quietly chatting or thinking to themselves. _Who hadn't gone out to the forest yet?_

His eyes landed on a bespectacled boy who seemed to be talking with Ojiro, the one with the tail. _No offense Ojiro, but I really can't think of any description other than "good at hand to hand combat" and "having a tail". _The one with glasses was Iida, who's family heritage was famous for the amount of heroes in their family tree. Mineta was a bit disappointed upon realizing how Iida behaved when he first met him. It turned out instead of a rich snob, the student was respectful to everyone, which Mineta didn't mind too much, Iida was nice enough guy to anyone he met. Well, unless they did something wrong, such as Bakugo acting like an asshole. Mineta didn't mind Iida calling Bakugo out on his childish behavior, but he the one thing disliked about Iida was how much of a boy scout he was. _Boy scout is a huge understatement, _he mentally huffed to himself as he looked at Iida from the corner of his eye. _With that family status like that...think of all the popularity with people, especially the __**women. **__C'mon Iida, think bigger man! _He clenched his fist. _With that much money and the social status...ugh!_

Tearing his prying gaze away from Iida, Mineta looked to Koda, who, like usual, wasn't speaking a single word. Although he was rather oddly shaped, the borderline mute boy had a rather remarkable quirk, even if he was shy. The quirk was being able to speak to animals was a really cool quirk in hindsight, but Mineta felt that kind of quirk would be more appropriate for an animated princess or something. _Still, pretty sweet quirk. I'd kill to have something like that, if I could command animals and insects._

Finally, Mineta glanced over to the only other student in the group that hadn't gone, Izuku Midoriya. Midoriya had gained a huge reputation over his time spent in UA, especially during... well basically everything. The green haired boy had made a name for himself at the start at the entrance exams, when he took out the Zero Pointer with a single solid punch, basically amazing everyone there. He also got himself some attention during the Sports Festival with a powerful display of his quirk.

Which resulted in multiple broken limbs, and he didn't even place. That part was pretty sad. When he first met Midoriya, Mineta had originally saw him as kind of pathetic due to how shy and hesitant he was. _Boy was I wrong. _Whatever he had thought of the green haired boy at the start, it didn't matter now. Not once the attack on the USJ had happened.

Midoriya had displayed an amazing amount of confidence and intelligence during the attack. Thanks to the portal villain, Mineta remembered himself, Midoriya, and Tsuyu being unceremoniously dropped into the water out of a portal. While Mineta himself was panicking and crying aboard the boat, Midoriya had kept a shockingly cool head. After finding out what everyone's quirks were, Midoriya came up with a plan that somehow worked. Now Mineta thought...no, _knew_, that Midoriya was the coolest ever. He knew no matter how much angst Todoroki vomited out as he froze and burned stuff, or how much Bakugo screamed while exploding stuff, they would never be as bad ass as Midoriya was.

Right now though, he greatly pitied Midoriya, who was uncomfortably shuffling in place. Mineta knew very well the boy's discomfort was caused by the fact he had to go by himself. Thanks to the odd numbering of students, Midoriya would have to face the scares by his lonesome. _Poor Midoriya. At least you got the attention of one of the Pussycats. _He shook his head. _Well, he probably wouldn't care. Right now Midoriya has his mind set on Uraraka. Those two definitely have a mutual crush for each other. Watching those two try to talk and just get too embarrassed to continue, ugh. It physically hurts me to watch them try to talk to each other. Like watching a car crash in slow motion._

Upon reminding himself of the cat heroes, he looked at the group of Pro Heroes near the other students. The Wild Wild Pussycats were all there in a group, save for one. Ragdoll was somewhere out in the forest somewhere, she represented the "checkpoint" or whatever. And there was Tiger standing over near Midoriya. Tiger was a very buff man, but with his cat outfit matching his female comrades, he was kind of weird.

Speaking of females, Mineta found himself staring at the remaining two Pussycats. There was Mandalay, the red Pussycat famous for her Telepath quirk. Although he hadn't known the Pussycats for long, but with the time spent around her Mineta could safely say that she probably had the biggest rack. Her costume probably wasn't helping either, with how tightly her colorful vest was squeezing against her chest. It wasn't skin tight, but it still made her breasts a _lot_ more pronounced. But Mineta didn't mind that at all. _Not. At. All._

Last but not least, Mineta's eyes were glued on to Pixie Bob, the blue one. Her chest wasn't as big as Mandalay's sure, but she did have that good ol' fashioned hourglass figure, and her costume made it easier to appreciate. Her little skirt didn't really cover much, so her legs were almost completely bare, which made it all the harder _not_ to stare. _Nice. _Although she was surprisingly interested into a group of the male students who performed the best. Mineta recalled her circling the group, which included Midoriya.

What floored him though was how negatively her prowling was received by the males. The boys didn't even seem to consider her even though she literally said she was interested and would "wait until they were eighteen" but the four had held up their arms and said some dumb stuff like "Get back" or something. _Ugh, talk about ungrateful. They got complemented by an attractive female Pro Hero, and don't even show their gratitude. Besides, it's not like anyone else has an eye on her. Well, other than the other two guys staring at her. _His eyes wandered back to his shoes, as he once more began to think to himself.

His thoughts quickly came to a grinding halt. Mineta quickly did a double take. He almost got whiplash as he turned his head back in Pixie's general vicinity. _Wait, other two guys?_ _I don't remember other heroes being here..._

He stared at the two strangers who seemed to be keeping their distance away from the group. The two strangers were keeping their distance from the main group for some reason. One looked like a giant lizard with weird hair. The lizard seemed to be holding a sword that actually looked like a bunch of knives glued together. The other one with big lips wearing sunglasses seemed to be holding a block. _Wait, was he holding a salt block? Like the ones that animals lick? _It definitely looked like one. Mineta narrowed his eyes. _Who were those guys? Are they part of the activity? _He didn't remember the Pussycats mentioning extra heroes coming. _Maybe I should ask Pixie? Although I'm sure this is probably a dumb misunderstanding but I can't be too sure..._

Mineta turned to say something, although he stopped once he realized something about the green one. He once again turned to the two strangers as he squinted at them. _Wait, I know that mask... _He realized that mask from anywhere. _That was Stain's mask! _He remembered it from the photos of him he saw online, and the video of Stain he saw a while back. The unsettling video still sent shivers down his spine. His confusion quickly turned into alarm as realization slammed into him. _I don't think a hero would be wearing a Stain mask..._

Confirming his suspicions about their identity, Mineta froze in place. Panic slowly begin to bubble in his chest. _No, no, no!_ Feeling a drop of sweat roll down his face, he tried to keep his breath steady. _They're villains! But they said it was safe! I thought they made doubly sure! Why...Why are their villains here?!_

* * *

Pixie Bob hummed thoughtfully to herself as she watched two students disappear from sight into the forest for their test of courage. _This training camp sure is something, but still... _She wondered to herself. _Aizawa really has been really pushing them to their limits..._ Pixie glanced to the group of students awaiting their turns. _But it's probably for the best. Villains attacks are worsening each day, even attacking children. _She shuddered thinking about the reports of the USJ attack, how some of the students were scarred for life. _Damn those villains. _

Pixie breathed deeply in through her nostrils, trying to calm herself before she got too worked up. Her attempts to calm herself were cut short when she noticed something wrong.

The air smelled _wrong. _

Pixie narrowed her eyes as she started sniffing the air. _Something smells wrong. Like a chemical fire? What is that? _She didn't immediately alert her friends, because it could be a false alarm, just nothing.

But she feared it was _something._

* * *

They were going to kill her.

They were going to _kill_ her.

Mineta tried to even his breath as he kept his eyes from bugging out. Sweat rolled down his face as he stared in terror at the villains who were now a bit easier to make out as they had inched closer to Pixie, with disturbing smiles plastered on their faces. The villains definitely were going to hurt Pixie. And no one was the wiser.

_What do I do?_

His first instinct was to run. _Run _as fast as he could and just to get the hell away from the villains. Just to get somewhere safe. He slowly got to his feet as his eyes wandered to the pathway that would lead him straight to the cabins. To safety. It wouldn't be difficult to just hightail it back to base and leave.

_But Pixie..._ His legs refused to allow him to escape. His subconscious argued against the idea of staying. _Forget her! She's a Pro Hero! She can take care of herself! Just warn her and run!_

_If I warn her, the villains will probably attack her immediately. Her back is turned, and I know that those villains probably aren't idiots. They'll probably catch on! Where you're standing, it's the perfect angle to push her away from harm!_

Mineta's breath began to quicken as he turned back to face Pixie, who was currently staring at some purple smoke in the sky. He felt his tiny hands begin to tremble. _Am I actually considering this? Why am I not running? I have to run! _For a split second, that train of thought was starting to win again. He started to turn away from Pixie.

_Midoriya wouldn't run._

He stopped in his tracks once more. He knew the little voice in his head was correct, as much he hated it. Pixie's life was at risk.

_Forget it all! There's no time! They're probably gonna attack any time now!_

_Dammit! Fine!_ Mineta turned towards Pixie. _Another reason to save her! I hope I don't mess this up! If I die, I'm blaming Midoriya for inspiring me!_

Mineta was well aware that he lacked the size or strength to simply push the Pro Hero aside. Back at UA he was the kicking ball to everyone else, _especially_ during training. _Desperate times call for desperate measures, _Mineta thought as he sprinted towards her. _If I miss, Pixie is as good as dead. _He shivered at the thought of Pixie's limp bloodied body on the ground. He couldn't let that happen.

Even though his muscles cried out in agony from being exercised earlier that day, he continued to run towards Pixie. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, the villains didn't seem to notice him catching on to their plan. _Good thing I'm pretty light, makes me a bit quieter because.. _"LOOK OUT!" Mineta shrieked as he kicked up dirt running towards her.

The Blue Pussycat turned towards him instead of heeding his warning. Mineta resisted the urge to facepalm mid sprint. __Turn around, dammit! You're about to die!__

Mineta saw one of the villains turn towards him instead of Pixie. The villain unintentionally had just bought Pixie a few more seconds of being alive. Precious time both Mineta and Pixie needed. The grape haired boy was very thankful for that. _As long as you're not looking at Pixie._

It appeared Pixie was still refusing to move, to Mineta's irritation. Her lack of cooperation meant that she was still in clear view of the villains, so if one of them acted early, it would be over. _Only bright side to this was that Pixie wasn't moving, so she's easier for me to hit. _He noticed that Pixie Bob had at least turned at the sound of the tinny voice. So that meant she had spotted him, which Mineta was slightly happy for.

Mineta noticed that Pixie appeared to have a glare on her face when she saw him running towards her. By the way her face twisted into one of annoyance in disgust, Mineta assumed she probably thought he was going to cling on her leg, or something perverted in general. His theory was quickly proven correct when Pixie angled her right leg to most likely kick him in the face. _If this was any other situation, I'd probably latch on, so I can't blame her. _He shrugged off the negative thoughts about himself as he got closer to his target. He sped up. _I can't afford to be thinking like this at the moment. It's now or never. _

As he got closer and closer, he noticed that Pixie's irritated expression twisted into one of surprise. The Pro Hero probably wasn't expecting him to be sprinting towards her at that speed. He just had to hit her at the right angle.

__Please work , please work...__ He thought to himself over and over as he jumped towards Pixie, arms outstretched to give her a good shove.

****WHUMP****

As he slammed into Pixie, Mineta let out a grunt of pain. _Ow._ But the hit was so accurate, that it would probably make Snipe blush. He heard Pixie grunt as well. He felt a little pang of satisfaction as Pixie stumble a few feet back, then landed on her back. Mineta could tell he knocked the wind out of her, by the way her eyes widened and she made a noise that sounded like a deflating balloon. _That probably wasn't pleasant,_ Mineta thought. _But she's farther away from harm. Away from the villains_.

Unsurprisingly, Pixie Bob quickly regained her composure. Pro Heroes were always known for having quick recoveries, especially in combat. Pixie quickly was back on her feet, and shot Mineta a very unpleasant glare. _Uh oh. She's probably about to scold me. _However, Mineta could tell something was wrong. Instead of pure anger, Pixie's expression was that of pure shock. _What's with that expression? Shouldn't she be furious with me?_

His question was answered when he started _floating_. Mineta looked down in surprise to see his entire body seemed to be glowing. Mineta's breath began to quicken once more as panic bubbled in his stomach. _What's going on? Does Pixie have a second quirk? No she didn't say anything about a second quirk! _He started to struggle against the invisible force as he tried to cry for help. But he was too terrified, his scream was stuck inside his throat.

Then whatever invisible force holding him up started to violently yank him away. He realized with horror that it was taking him straight to the villains that hid in the trees. _No no no! Get away! Let me go! _Mineta struggled in vain to escape whatever quirk was pulling. It was almost like he was _magnetized_ towards them. His yelling from earlier now gaining an audience, a voice called out from the group as he was yanked to the villains. "Mineta?!" Someone cried. Mineta couldn't tell who it was since he was facing the villains. As he stared at the villains, the expression on their faces told Mineta something. He realized with horror that they probably weren't looking for a hostage.

The next events that took place would be burned into Mineta's mind for the rest of time.

An old saying went that the first time you did something you really didn't want to do, would be the worst time, and would get easier over time. That saying couldn't be anymore wrong.

Not to say the first time would be a nice experience or anything.

As he was yanked right in front of the one with the block, Mineta felt the block get violently rammed into his chest. He let out a gasp of agony as the block penetrated his chest cavity, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Mineta had never felt pain this horrible. He had experienced multiple painful encounters of being shoved into lockers at his old school, or getting multiple bruises during Hero Combat training. But none of that could compare to _this._

He couldn't scream, the noise he let out was more like a pathetic whine of agony. The block snapped the ribs on his chest. Mineta gasped as the jagged ends snapped ribs were pressed _inwards, _and pierced multiple internal organs inside him. Finally finding his voice, Mineta cried out in pain as the villain used his block to crush his ribcage with little effort. He heard the green villain with the giant sword cackling in amusement. He let out a gasp as the block slammed him into the ground, kicking up a find cloud of dirt.

"Mineta!" A green haired boy cried desperately, running towards the two villains pinning the purple boy against the ground.

The grape boy coughed up blood after gasping out once more. The salt block had effectively crushed his ribs, damaging his insides even more. Mineta struggled to breath, for he started to choke on his own blood. Every time he breathed successfully, it felt like fiery needles piercing his lungs and chest. He felt like he was coughing up hot, boiling water whenever he coughed up more blood.

_IT HURTS! IT HURTS! _He wanted to scream, but he couldn't get himself to talk. Nothing would work. he gasped in agony as tears freely fell down his cheeks. _Hurts...Hurts..._ He attempted to speak again, to no avail. It hurt so much that he was unable to say anything at all anymore.

However, Pixie seemed to finally to snap out of whatever temporary trance she was in, and leaped into action. Charging at the villains, she summoned a massive earth flow to knock the offending villains off their feet, causing them to fly up unceremoniously, Mineta included. Luckily, Ojiro managed to catch on to the villains as well, and ran past Pixie towards Mineta, who was still midair. Utilizing his acrobatic skills, he wrapped his tail on a thick branch from a nearby tree to boost himself. He caught the limp the limp boy and retreated back to the group of students.

"Shit!" Pixie cursed as she ran over to the group of students who were grouping around Ojiro, who was gently setting a gasping Mineta on the ground.

However, the grape haired boy began to gasp as something began to bubble inside him. Something that was much more horrifying then any pain.

**Fear. **

Mineta realized with terror that he was dying. _I'm going to die. _Running his hands along his chest, he felt nauseous as the wound stung upon his touch. He swallowed his nausea as he felt how warm the wound was as blood continued to spurt out of it. His fingers were poked by the jagged bones that were jutting out of the wound. He was faintly aware that his classmates were huddled around him. He strained to hear them talking, and he managed to hear small snippets.

"Mineta! Stay with us!"

_Was that Iida? Sounds like him... he likes to yell a lot..._

"Sh-Shit. He's bleeding everywhere." A voice sounding like Mandalay said. It appeared that the other Pussycats decided to join the huddle.

Mineta wanted to say something, but he was afraid it would waste his energy. _What was left of it anyway. _Swallowing a sob, he clenched his eyes shut as his eyes watered out wet tears.

"Don't fall asleep Mineta," Midoriya choked out. "Y-You've got to hold on. Open your eyes..."

Eventually complying, Mineta managed to force his beady eyes open as he blinked away more tears. He didn't want to look, but morbid curiosity combined with pain eventually forced him to look downwards at his chest. Well, what was left of it anyway. He couldn't even feel his own heartbeat, the pain was too much. He could see the open wound glisten a dark red in the moonlight as more blood seeped out of it. He was pretty sure a few bones were sticking out, or he was just hallucinating from the loss of blood. He struggled to fight off the increasing nausea once he saw his gaping chest.

_I'm dying._

Mineta knew that he had a reputation for crying, especially in bad situations. One example was the USJ, he remembered bursting into tears multiple times. But this... was nothing like it. He was going to die. He was hurting so much, it hurt so much. He'd never become a hero, and graduate to become a full Pro Hero like he promised his mother. His emotions were a jumbled combination of fear, horror, and sadness. He let out more tears as his mindset went to what would happen when he died. Was it just pure darkness for eternity and nothing else? Not even able to think ever again.

He'd never see his mother again.

_Mom... _Mineta let out a sob realizing that he'd never see her again. She'd never be there for him when he was sad or had a nightmare and softly embrace him when he ran up to her crying. He'd never be able to hug her again. Never again would he be able to hear her asking how his day was once he returned from school. Never again.

The students around him seemed to realize as well that there was nothing that could be done. Mineta Minoru was going to die from being gruesomely maimed by an unnamed villain, and there was nothing anyone could do. The people surrounding him had a grim understanding at how terrified the poor boy was.

"Mineta."

A soft voice momentarily brought Mineta away from his thoughts. _Wh-Who? _He looked in the direction of the sound, and saw none other then Pixie Bob looking at him. _Pixie? _She was crouched by him, having a serious look in her eyes, but with a sad smile.

The Blue Pussycat rubbed at her eyes. "Thank you."

_Thank you?_ Her words shocked Mineta, so much that he thought he had heard her incorrectly for a minute. Her voice held sincerity in it, which confused the half alive boy. _Why is she thanking me? _"Wh-What?" he gasped out. It hurt so much to speak, but he wanted to know what she wanted to say. He _needed_ to know. He could tell that the horrible shake in his voice was very noticeable, as Pixie winced when she heard him speak.

Pixie took a deep breath in, and let out a shaky exhale as tears flowed out of her eyes. The blue pussycat wiped away at the tears, for they started to blur her vision. "You..." She started. "You saved me, Mineta. You saved my life. I wouldn't be here right now if you didn't push me out of harms away." She glanced back to where Tiger and Mandalay were facing off against the villains. She turned back to Mineta. "But I'm so, so, sorry. It should have been me. I should have been the one to get hurt, I wasn't paying attention. And now... now you're paying for a mistake I made." She sniffed again. "Some hero I am, huh?"

In truth, Pixie Bob felt _awful. _She was completely ignorant of the danger that was before them, and now it costed her a life of a child. A child, of all things. She had lost innocents before in her work in rescuing, but children... it still made her insides twist when she failed to save them. It was something she would never get over.

"I-It's not your f-fault," Mineta said as he let out another sob. His terror was slowly winning over his pain, making his already quick breathing get even faster. His hyperventilating was only stopped by him coughing up more blood, grotesquely splattering against his shirt. "I'm glad y-you're okay."

Unfortunately, Pixie was leaning a bit too close when Mineta coughed, and droplets of blood splattered on her face. However, she didn't seem to acknowledge it. She looked down at Mineta's chest and quickly looked away. The massive wound made her want to look anywhere but there. "But why?" Pixie said, making Mineta look at her in surprise again. She sadly smiled. "You could of just ran from the villains, yet you saved me. You didn't have to... Why did you?" She watched as the grape haired boy tried to cough again, but the excess blood made him struggle to cough. She winced as the boy spasmed, and instead of coughing, he made a horrible gurgling noise, and crimson liquid pooled out of his mouth, and covered his chin.

After hacking a few more times, he turned to Pixie once more. "It...It was what Midoriya would of done."

The green boy in question widened his eyes in surprise. "Wh-what? Mineta, what are you talking about?"

Mineta coughed again, accidentally sending a few drops of blood onto Midoriya's face. "It's what a hero would of done, right? I w-wanted to run away... but I r-remembered how you acted during the USJ attack... Remember that?" Once Midoriya nodded, Mineta continued. "Y-yeah... I was just crying about how useless I was, but you smiled and came up with a plan..." Mineta coughed again. "And I th-thought about what you would do... I just...I h-had to act, like you did."

Midoriya felt his eyes glisten with tears. He inhaled deeply, trying to steady his breathing as the emotion was making it difficult. His chest hurt as he shakily exhaled. _It's not fair. _Ever since he had started at UA, he had a good impression who Mineta was, and what he liked doing. He had wanted Mineta to change, to be a better person. A hero. _But now, when Mineta finally does just that, he's punished for it. And now he's was going to die._ Midoriya clenched his fist as more tears ran down his cheeks. _This isn't fair to Mineta! Why is this happening to him?! _

"M-Midoriya?"

Midoriya shook the thoughts out of his head, and turned to the confused Mineta. "S-Sorry Mineta." He wiped at his eyes. "I-I'm glad that I helped. You were a hero Mineta."

Mineta's eyes seemed to widen even more. "R-Really? I-I am?"

"Of course you were. Y-You said you just acted, right? You saved her. That's what heroes do." Midoriya's eyes wandered to the gaping hole in Mineta's chest. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Mineta stared in shock at the green haired boy smiling sadly at him. He coughed up blood as he realized what Midoriya meant._ He's said I'm a hero... _He didn't understand why, but someone telling it to his face...it meant that much more to him. He felt his eyes water once more. But as the pain throbbed in his chest, he realized he might of just been crying from the pain. He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the tears to spill out and onto his cheeks. He was feeling rather tired now. _That probably means that I'm getting close to...to... _"M-Miss Pixie?"

The blue eyed hero had to lower herself closer, as Mineta had gotten quieter. She felt sick to her stomach as she realized that the boy was getting weaker from blood loss. _Shit...He's fading... I don't know how much time he has left. _"Y-Yes Mineta?"

The boy looked at Pixie right in her eyes. "I-I'm scared. I...I wanna go home Miss Pixie. I-I want my m-mom."

Pixie heard a sob come from somewhere behind them. She followed Mineta's gaze to see that Iida had finally let his mask break, and he had tears coming down from behind his glasses. Ojiro was still looking on in horror, with Koda doing the same, although he was crying a bit more from terror.

"I-I know Mineta. It's okay. It's okay. We're here for you." Pixie said softly. "We're all here for you." As she watched Mineta close his eyes and sob quietly, she knew that words obviously weren't enough for the poor boy. _He's suffering._ Glancing down at her gloved hand, she slowly used her left hand to pull at the glove on her right. It slowly slipped off, and her pale hand almost seemed to glow in the moonlight. She slowly reached to Mineta...

And wrapped her slender fingers around his hand.

Mineta's eyelids flew open, and he stared down at his hand. He looked back up at Pixie in surprise, as if to question her. However, when he attempted to speak, he started to spasm painfully with coughs. "S-Sorry," Mineta managed to whisper weakly. He let out another gasp and squeezed her hand with his. "Th-Thank you."

Midoriya looked on in surprise, but after he looked down at Mineta's frail form, he grabbed the boy's right hand and squeezed it. "W-We're here Mineta," Midoriya said through tears. "It's o-okay."

However, Mineta let out another cry of pain as his gaping wound spurted out, and began to hyperventilate. "O-Oh God..." Mineta cried in agony. "It h-hurts, it hurts. It hurts Miss Pixie." He began to repeat himself faster and faster. "It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts."

"Mineta?" Pixie said, taking notice at Mineta's voice going borderline hysterical. "Talk to me Mineta, we're right here!"

"I-I wanna go home. I w-w-wanna go h-home." Mineta said as more tears slid down his cheeks. His eyes were wide with panic as he started to spasm with coughs. He let go of Pixie's and Midoriya's hands, and instinctively reached for the wound, but retracted in pain when he touched it. "A-Ah! H-hurts.."

"Mineta!" Midoriya said quickly in alarm. "D-Don't do that! You're hurting yourself!"

Mineta seemed to ignore her, and his hands still hovered near the hole in his chest. "It h-hurts... M-Miss...Mi...Mama, I don't want to die Mama. It hurts..." Mineta gasped. "H-Help me...please..."

"Mineta!" Midoriya cried in panic. "H-Hold on, we can do something, we can..." His voice trailed off when he saw Pixie's solemn expression. The blue Pussycat slowly shook her head, but now she also had tears in her eyes as well. Midoriya slowly looked back at Mineta, who was now looking around in panic, his eyes not able to focus on anything. Midoriya swallowed, unable to say anything as he watched the grape haired boy writhe in agony. _Why?_ Was all Midoriya could think to himself. _Why did this happen?_

Mineta's breathing begun to slow down, as his movements became less spastic. The amount of blood loss slowly began to weaken the small boy. "I d-don't...f-feel well..." he gasped.

"Hold on Mineta!" Midoriya cried out desperately. He watched hopelessly as Mineta kept crying out for his mother in terror. _Why can't we do anything?! _

"I don't w-w-wanna die...M-Mama..." Mineta choked out. He began to spasm and cough more, alarming the people crowded around him. Finally, he let out one last breath. "help...me..."

After he let out one last gasp, Mineta stopped breathing, and went limp. The light in his eyes went empty and hollow.

Everything went silent. The only noise now was blood dripping against the ground.

"M-Mineta?" Midoriya said, not daring to raise his voice. "Mineta? Get up Mineta!"

No response.

The green haired boy felt a chill go down his spine. He put his hands on Mineta's shoulders, and shook him. "Mineta! Get up!"

The boy did not move.

Panic began to swell in Midoriya's chest. "Mineta!" He shook harder. "Get up!"

"Midoriya."

The boy ceased his attempts to wake his friend to look in the direction of the voice.

Pixie Bob had a solemn expression, although she had a few stray tears going down her cheeks as well. "I'm sorry." Pixie said as she stood up. She put her hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "He's gone." She was calm, although it was for Midoriya's sake. Because of her, a child was dead. She realized she would have to live with that for the rest of her life. She knew that once this was over, the other Pussycats would try to reassure her that it wasn't because of her. She could already see Ragdoll telling her to not blame herself, and Mandalay saying that "no one would of seen this coming". But this hurt a different way. A dead _child_. She felt a spark of anger...no, _hatred_ towards the villains among the sorrow she was feeling.

Midoriya looked at Pixie hopelessly. "I..." He looked at the pale form of Mineta's corpse. "Why...? W-Why did this happen?"

Pixie took a deep breath in, and slipped her bare hand into her paw glove. "I don't know." Her eyes focused on the villains currently clashing with her teammates. "But they're going to tell me why, whether they like it or not." She ignored the other noises from the other students who were crying, and sprinted towards her teammates.

* * *

Mandalay desperately dodged a slash from the lizard villain's giant sword as she leaped over to Tiger's side once more. "Damn!"

"Fuckin' fake heroes!" Roared the lizard as he clumsily swung his sword in a vain attempt to get a lucky hit on the Pussycat. "Die!"

As she dodged another swing, she cursed under her breath. She did not expect for any of this to happen, she herself was completely sure this camp was free from any possible villain attack! _We made doubly sure! How the hell is this happening? Or more importantly, who the hell knew of this place, and told the villains about it?_ Now she was in a dance for her life as she narrowly avoided attacks from this psycho lizard, who seemed to like vomiting out Stain propaganda.

"Mandalay! Tiger!"

She and Tiger both looked at Pixie Bob, who was currently running up the join them. As she got close, Pixie summoned a land mass to force the villains away. The villains cursed as they were thrown back, but were temporarily dealt with. _Thank you Pixie! That was getting on my nerves!_ Mandalay smiled and opened her mouth to say her thanks, but stopped when she got a good look at Pixie's face.

_Despair._

That's all Mandalay could make out when she stared at Pixie. The blue Pussycat look so worn, so tired. Her usually bright and cheerful blue eyes that would always stand out during the day, now... They just looked so dull. Mandalay could make out a few fresh tears on her pale cheeks. Looking past Pixie's tears, she managed to make out what looked like little droplets of _blood_ on her face. _Something happened. What the hell happened? __A small part of me doesn't want to ask... not a lot of things get to her like that, but... _"Pixie?" Mandalay started cautiously, "What happened?"

Pixie rubbed at her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears that ran down her cheeks. "I...I lost him.. the k-kid. Mineta. He's gone."

Mandalay's eyes widened in shock. She shook her head, trying to absorb what Pixie had just said. _What? _"H-How? He didn't look that bad when..."

"It was too much," Pixie managed to say as she tried wiping the crimson specks off of her face. "His body just..just couldn't take it. Too much damage to his internal organs. It...It looked like his own broken ribs did most of the damage."

Mandalay tried to swallow whatever threatened to come out of her throat. She had dealt with failure in the past as a Pro Hero, an innocent dying because of their failure never hurt any less when it happened. To see the relatives or loved ones weep... but a child... Mandalay's eyes went wide with horror. _No... But why would they... they go for him? He's just a kid...was a kid._ She thought to herself._ Just like Ko-_

Her eyes went wide in alarm. _Kota._ She realized with horror that she had no idea where the small boy was. He wandered off again, and she didn't have the faintest idea where. In the forest of villains."P-Pixie.." Mandalay stuttered out, "Do you know where Kota is?"

Pixie's eyes also went wide. "N-No... I thought he was back in the building..."

"No!" Mandalay cried. "He usually wanders off, but always comes back. He goes out to think or something, but I don't know where." _What if something happened? What if a villain found him? What if-_

"M-Miss Mandalay?"

Mandalay's panicked thoughts grinded to a halt when she saw Midoriya a few feet away from her. _When did he get there?_ She cringed when she saw the boy also had blood drops on his face. The boy had a rather odd stare, as if he really wasn't there. _He must have been there when the kid...Mineta... _"Midoriya?" She honestly couldn't think of anything else to say. She knew that this wasn't exactly the time to be socializing, but she wasn't able to bring herself to scold him for not running. Or yell at him to get back into the group.

But Midoriya appeared to take her silence as an okay to keep talking, so he continued. "I... I know where Kota is."

Mandalay's wanted to ask "where", because she needed to go get him. Get him away from villains. "You do?!" She asked, keeping herself from panicking, as she had been in situations like these before, she had to keep calm.

Midoriya nodded. "Y-Yeah!" He absentmindedly wiped at the blood splattered against his face. "I..I can go get him!"

The red Pussycat felt a surge of gratitude towards the green haired boy. "Thank you Midoriya. Just... be safe out there, all right?" She glanced in the direction of Mineta's pale form. "We...We don't need to lose another student."

Midoriya glanced at Mineta's body, and wiped away the tears in his eyes. "A-All right. I won't let you d-down."

And with that, the boy turned in a random direction and begun sprinting in the direction where Kota presumably was. He clenched his fists as he remembered Mineta staring into his soul as the boy begged to go home. Now he was dead.

Dead.

Never to ever return.

_I'm sorry Mineta._

As Pixie heard the pattering footsteps of Midoriya fade away, she could only feel anger now. Anger was the only thing now that kept Pixie going, after witnessing the death of a child and having him bleed out in front of her, she felt a certain hatred for these villains bloom in her chest, and she saw the other children mourn. _These villains... treating a child's life like trash..._

She was barely aware of Mandalay returning to their side as the villains recovered from the attack, and crept towards the Pussycats to get another shot at attacking. Her eyes were glued onto the one with the sunglasses. "You." She extended her claws. "I'm going to shred you apart, 'villain'"

* * *

"Minoru!"

_Mineta could only see darkness, but he had definitely heard someone calling his name. They sounded oddly familiar. He couldn't see his body at all, everything was completely black. He felt very confused. ___What? What's going on? Is this the afterlife? Am I stuck between Heaven and Hell or something? It doesn't look too awful, but it doesn't look to great either.__

"Sweetie, wake up!"

_Wake up? I'm asleep? _

Mineta was now faintly aware that his eyes were actually closed, as he felt his eyelids covering his beady little eyes. Deciding to comply with the voice giving him orders, he forced his eyes open to see...

More darkness.

_What?_

Straining them open, Mineta saw that there was light coming from the side of his view, but what alarmed him momentarily was the shadow that was uncomfortably close to him. Fear gripped his heart, but he said nothing. As his eyes adjusted, he actually saw that he was in his room, and not some hospital room. No hospital would have a poster of Mt Lady, at least none like _that._ A light could be seen coming from outside his room door, and he looked up at the shadow on his bed.

"Minoru?"

His brain finally kicked in, and he recognized the voice that called his name. He squinted his eyes. "M-Mama?"

His mother smiled. "Yes sweetie, it was just a bad dream?"

"Bad dream?" Mineta was still half asleep, and admittedly was having trouble remembering anything, as it was all foggy.

"Yes...you were tossing and turning when I came to wake you up." She wiped away at a tear that was running down her son's cheek. "Are you okay now?"

Mineta looked at her hand in shock, as if the sight of his own tears was entrancing. _I...I was crying? Why would I cry? It was just a dream...what had happened again? I was in a forest...when..._

His memories came crashing down on him at once. He remembered it all. Him hesitating to save Pixie in an effort to save his own skin, him pushing Pixie out of harms way. The villain dealing a fatal blow, and how he bled out in front of his classmates. It was a bad dream? It had felt sickeningly, sickeningly, real. He remembered his ribcage being crushed, and how his broken ribs had shredded his innards. He experimentally ran his hands over his chest.

Nothing._ So it was just a bad dream..._

Overwhelmed by emotion, Mineta felt more tears run down his cheeks. _That...That was horrible..._ He cried as he couldn't even control his emotions.

His mother quickly caught on, and fiercely embraced him. "It's okay Minrou... shhhhh." She said as she felt her son's arms hesitantly wrapping around her torso. "It's okay... Just a bad dream..."

Mineta felt at peace for a split second as his mother softly hugged him, reminding him that he was alive, and that he was okay, and that the events previously was just a dream.

It was just a dream.

….Right?

* * *

****And...that's chapter 1 redux finished! If you're new here, welcome to Twisted Nightmares! Right now only chapter 1 has been fully redone/remastered. The other chapters, if they have the words "rewrite" in the authors note, that means it's not gonna be like this one obviously. When I first made this story, I was disappointed by the chapters how they were so I tried "Rewriting them." And by rewrite I meant fixing some spelling errors, and adding a few lines or two, they were still pretty awful. But now that I've done this chapter, I'll try to do as many of these as I can. Remember, if it says "Rewrite" it's not redone. Only when it's "Redux" is finished, it'll be redone officially. So apologies if the chapters after this one are trash, I promise the story gets better, because I'm evolving as the story continues, so I'll try to Redux as many of the older chapters as I can. Other than that, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. If you liked the chapter, please Review/Follow/Fav! It really, really, helps! Until next time my friends, see you!****


	2. Something's Wrong

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 2****

****Something's wrong.****

* * *

Mineta was currently being comforted by his mother, who sensed something was wrong when she heard gasps coming from her sons room. She had leaped into action and had found him silently sobbing in his sleep, and grabbing at his chest like it was hurting. She immediately took action, hugging the small boy and whispered words of comfort. It had eventually worked, the small boy waking up, and the small sobs coming from the small boy transitioned to simply quiet gasps.

If they had stayed that way, Mineta was pretty sure he would have fallen back asleep. All that was missing was his mother singing him a lullaby like he was a toddler again. He did feel his eyelids threaten to close, since the supposed threat to him had now been vanquished. And with his mother comforting him, he didn't mind her tucking him in and quietly walking out. He'd probably conk out under 5 minutes if she did. He felt exhausted.

"Minoru."

The yearn for rest was stopped however, as his savior's voice stopped him from closing his eyes.

Resisting the urge to groan at any chance of sleep being taken away from him, he looked up at his mother. The worry on the woman's face was clear as day. "What happened sweetie?" She said softly, not wanting to push for an answer, but still wanted some closure on the topic.

He squinted his eyes, searching his memories for an answer. Then the emotions all hit him at once. He remembered every single detail.

"_Stay with us Mineta!"_

"_Oh stars, he's bleeding everywhere..."_

"_**I don't want to die."**_

The horrible thoughts made him start to tear up again, terrified. His mother instinctively stroked his head in an effort to calm the frightened child. Mineta was thankful she wasn't pushing him for an answer. Mineta didn't see any advantage of lying to his mother about it. "I...I had a really bad dream," Mineta whispered. And it was true. It was probably the worst dream...no, _nightmare_ he had ever had.

His pathetic tinny voice seemed to have triggered a protective response from his mother, for she hugged him even tighter than before. "It was just a nightmare honey, it never happened." She said soothingly. Mineta repeated that to himself in his head like a mantra.

_Just a nightmare..._

_Just a nightmare..._

Mineta understood it was probably just a nightmare. But it was still a horrifying thing to experience either way. He just hoped that the camp would be different then in his dream, because it had felt terrifyingly real. Thank All Might for his mother, if she wasn't here he probably would have had a panic attack. Being alone after having a nightmare like that...

His mother looked like she wanted to say something, but she hesitated. She took a deep breath and whispered to him."Minoru, sweetie. Are you just nervous for the exams?"

Mineta's train of thought went completely blank. His thoughts came to a complete halt.

_Exams?_

Those words seemed to freeze Mineta's world. The exams? Hadn't he already take the exams? The exams where he and his classmate Sero faced off against the 18+ Pro Hero Midnight? Was that a dream too? His mind raced with questions and possibilities. How was that even possible?

He could have been just pondering these things for long minutes, if his mother hadn't spoke up again.

"What's wrong Minoru?" His mother had noticed his silence.

Mineta shook his head, eyes squeezing out more tears. "U-um, n-nothing." He mentally slapped himself after saying that. _She's not gonna buy that, what a half assed response._

One look on her face told Mineta that she wasn't buying it. Mineta's mother was a lot of things, and gullible was not one of them. She looked at him with a concerned expression. While rubbing away another tear that managed to escape Mineta's eyes, she spoke in a hushed tone. "Honey, if there's something wrong, I'm can tell me." Her sweet voice almost made Mineta break. How was he supposed to explain that his dream was the possible future? That he had gotten butchered by a villain, and had to watch as his few friends mourned him? That he had felt himself dying? He decided to risk lying to his mom. His mom who just wanted to help him, and wanted what was best for him.

"Y-you're right Mom." Mineta said with a shaky smile. It was the best one he could come up with. "I'm really nervous about the exams. They're probably gonna be really difficult, including the practical."

Lady Luck seemed to smile upon Mineta, as his mom's concerned expression eventually turned into a small smile. She looked like she wanted to say more, but she decided not to press it. " Mineta, sweetie, it's perfectly alright to be nervous. It's completely normal." His mother said softly. "Thank you for being honest with me." Her voice was genuine, and Mineta knew she had bought it. He didn't feel good.

Her words of her believing him hammered the final nail in his theoretical coffin. There was no going back now. He put on another false smile. "You're welcome mom." Mineta tried not to let his smile break, for it felt like it was going to shatter.

* * *

The school day passed by any other day, considering how most classes went at UA. But for some reason it felt oddly familiar, but Mineta couldn't put his finger on it. Classes went by per usual, but it wasn't until later that day, Mineta realized something was very, very, wrong.

It was during one of the classes he had with Aizawa, AKA the Pro Hero Eraserhead. The topics were pretty normal, but was nearing the end of the class, the problem revealed itself.

Aizawa currently held a stack of papers in his hands. _Why did this feel so familiar? _

"That's it for class," Aizawa announced to his students. His gaze was glued to the papers he held, not even bothering to look up. At his students. Breathing in, he glanced up. "There's only one week until the final exams."

Mineta found his train of thought once more coming to a grinding halt as Aizawa said those words.

_What. _Mineta felt like he was paralyzed. He was hit with the world's biggest case of deja vu. Mineta didn't exactly have the memory of an elephant, but why did it sound so damn familiar? Like he had heard this before?

The roomed seemed to turn deathly quiet for Mineta, but he was partially aware that Aizawa was still talking about something. He watched as Aizawa finished his announcement for the class, and promptly exited the room. Something suddenly popped up in Mineta's subconscious. He remembered... his friends, Mina and Kaminari. There were about to shout something, about their studiess...

"**I HAVEN'T STUDIED AT ALL!" Mina and Kaminari** shouted, Mina with a big smile, and Kaminari with a terrified expression, most likely the electric boy realized the consequences for the lack of studying.

Mineta felt a chill run up his spine. This _had _happened before! Did it? This did...

_No. No. No damn way. _He refused. He would _not _accept that as a reality.

It would be a huge coincidence if not. Mineta prayed it was coincidence. It was a coincidence! It had do be! Mineta felt himself relax a little. As long as Mina and Kaminari didn't began shouting at him for something, he'd be fine. He had a hazy memory of their anger at something he did. What had he done again?

Deep in thought now, Mineta stared blankly forward, his mind full of what-if scenarios his brain could think up for him. He began to subconsciously tune out any of the other conversations around him, ignoring the chattering of his fellow classmates about their studying. It was only when he heard accusatory shouts aimed at him Mineta broke free of his subconscious. How long had he been zoning out? He was aware that a certain horned pink girl and a blonde spiky haired boy were shouting at him now.

"Ninth place?!" Kaminari and Mina cried, mortified at the little grape pervert placing above them.

Mineta was confused. Ninth place wasn't _that _bad, was it? He wasn't the top genius of the class, that honor went to a certain student with a creating quirk. The tones of their voices implied they were angry. Did he do something wrong? His mind went blank, as his brain could not fetch any answers.

"And here I thought you were one of us!" Mina screeched, her high pitched voice slightly made Mineta wince.

Kaminari did not seem to be very pleased at the situation either. "Guys like you are only likeable if they're dumb!"

_Dumb? _

_He wasn't dumb. Mineta knew that very well. Why the hell were they calling him dumb? _

Mineta felt angry at Kaminari's harsh words. He was **not **dumb. He decided to counter by turning halfway towards the electric boy, and glared at him icily. The anger Mineta felt, it didn't feel natural at all, but it was like he was on autopilot, and couldn't stop himself. He was in the right here, he was defending himself.

The blonde boy fell silent under Mineta's disturbingly angry gaze.

"Are you two finished?" Mineta spat angrily. What was their issue? Why did they insult him? He studied! He worked hard! He did his work. They didn't, why did they direct their anger at him.

The blonde boy and pink girl in question couldn't find an answer to Mineta's venomous question. They clearly did not expect such an angry response from Mineta.

Luckily, Mineta's angry reply wasn't too loud, as it didn't seem to catch any of the other student's attention. He silently thanked his lucky stars.

Someone else seemed to want to speak to the two students in front of him. "Ashido! Kaminari!" A voice called from behind them. The two turned to see bushy green hair greeted them, and a winning smile from none other them Midoriya Izuku himself. "L-Let's do our best!" Midoriya said cheerfully. "We all want to go to training camp together, right?" The boy obviously wanted to cheer up the two lowest scoring students in the class, as their chances of passing the exams as of now were pretty low.

"Yes! As class rep I also have high hopes you'll all be moved to action!" Iida had stood up to hand chop and chime in with Midoriya in his encouraging efforts. Even Todoroki joined in as well, saying something Mineta didn't pay attention to. Because Mineta wasn't focused on their conversations at the current moment. For he had a new issue to deal with. After he broke off the glare he had given Mina and Kaminari, Mineta found himself under the gaze of Izuku Midoriya.

Being under the judgmental gaze of Midoriya Izuku was probably in the "Top 10 Worst Things That Could Happen To You In UA" The worst part is that it was never an irritated look. When you knew you messed up badly, Midoriya would give you a sad look with those green eyes of his, like he was very concerned about you, and it seemed like he wanted to say something, but didn't want to offend or anger you. So unless it was a bad enough situation, Midoriya would just give you the "Sad Look". Even if you had no idea what you did, his gaze would manage to make you feel guilty about _something. _Looking at Midoriya when he was sad was comparable to looking at a kicked puppy. It was just so sad.

_Damn._ It seemed that Midoriya _had_ noticed Mineta's little angry outburst towards the two lowest scoring students. He'd probably would try to ask if something was wrong.

Mineta _prayed _that Midoriya would spare him.

__Just look away, don't ask, don't ask, don't ask...__

Luck smiled upon Mineta once more, and Midoriya eventually turned away to rejoin the conversation with the other students that wanted his attention. Mineta released his breath. He didn't even know he had been holding his breath. Ugh, Midoriya really knew how to wrack someone's nerves, that's for sure.

* * *

After his little convo with Kaminari and Mina, Mineta had certainly had his fill of that class. He went to lunch, and relived the moment where the one short haired blonde taunted his friends, and the orange haired girl gave him a good chop. It felt like a blur, since lunch usually progressed the same way, even if it was somehow a time loop. Monoma still grinded Mineta's gears, but Mineta was pretty sure the pretentious blonde would always be like that. Hell, the blonde probably grinded _everyone's _gears.

On the topic of the time loop, only now had Mineta decided to give it some thought. Was it a time loop? Had he seen the future? Was this a bad future where he could change it? His mind raced with ideas. Not a single recorded quirk in history had _any _time related powers_. Right_? Unless it was a huge coincidence that he seemed to be reliving the past, did he have a second quirk? It wasn't exactly common, but having two quirks wasn't exactly unheard of. Take Todoroki for example, he had the power of ice and fire, though he couldn't control them simultaneously sadly.

But still. A freaking TIME quirk? He felt so confused. That was stuff you never saw in real life, only in the comics or something.

After he finished his lunch and headed back to class. He found himself reliving another moment from his past when the hot headed Bakugo scolding Mina and Kaminari for being cocky about the practical.

Wait a minute. He knew exactly what was coming next...

"Hey, Deku!"

_Oh, boy. Bakugo. Right. _This was when Bakugo came to scold "Deku" about something, and how he was _so _much better.

Yeah right.

The entire classroom seemed to stop in time, the activity in the room coming to a grinding halt. Now everyone's focus was now on Izuku and Bakugo, who currently were looking right at each other.

Mineta rolled his eyes. _Here we go..._

The angry Bakugo continued his rant. "I don't know if you figured out how to use your quirk a little or what, but you seriously keep rubbing me the wrong way." Bakugo's tone was full of anger and hate.

Mineta heard hushed voices from behind, and he turned to see that there was whispering from Ochako and Mina. They mentioned about how Midoriya used a similar move set when he was racing. Which was true. Mineta faintly remembered how the green haired boy mimicked the explosive boy's moves during the race. Bakugo had a rather angry expression on his face, that was for sure.

Bakugo continued in a irritated tone. "I don't need another half assed result like at the sports festival. At the upcoming finals, we'll get individual scores. So we'll see whos better whether we like it or not." His eyes were full of even more anger, if that was possible.

Bakugo pointed a finger at poor Izuku, and would of continued normally like last time-

If it weren't for Mineta and his big mouth. He suddenly remembered what Bakugo declared last time. _Didn't he say something like..._

**"******I'll beat you with an indisputable difference!"****

**"******I'll beat you with an indisputable difference!"****

Whatever Bakugo was going to say, was halted by the blabbermouth Mineta, who was currently sitting behind Midoriya. He had already spoken, and the entire room had went quiet once more at his words.

The reason the sudden silence being Mineta. He had just perfectly parroted Bakugo's declaration simultaneously. Not just parroted, he had said it _exactly _like Bakugo did. To the pitch of his voice, the pronunciation of the words, and the rate he had said it.

_Oops._ Mineta thought. He was a tad bit nervous now, but not much as he usually would be. His mind was still reeling from previous events. Mineta found himself rather puzzled about the whole "Time Quirk" shenanigans. Could they blame him though? Any average person would probably still be freaking out about it.

But now the entire class was staring at Mineta now, the tension seemed to had risen exponentially. Mineta however, had a rather blank look on his face since he was still was borderline meditating on his issue. But Bakugo did _not_ like someone mocking him.

Enraged, he marched over to Mineta's desk. Mineta found Bakugo's face shoved right in front of his. The angry blonde's eyes screamed _hatred. _Though that wasn't a surprise, since it was Bakugo.

"What the fuck was that? You little shit." Bakugo growled at Mineta. Was he even more angry than before?

The grape boy in question however, seemed to be in a different world. He was still pondering about, y'know, Basically everything. After a few seconds Mineta seemed to just notice the spiky boys presence. "Huh? What? Can I help you?" Mineta said in a rather monotone voice, obviously distracted with his thoughts.

That was the incorrect thing to say apparently, for Bakugo's anger rose tenfold. Mineta swore he saw little explosions coming from Bakugo's palms, or maybe he was just imagining things. But this was Bakugo, so you could never be _too_ sure.

"You think you're so funny you little asshole? Try that again, and-"

"Let me guess," Mineta tinny voice stopped Bakugo from finishing his sentence. "You'll kill me?"

That was a _huge _risk. But in all honestly, Mineta just wanted to go home now. He didn't want to deal with Bakugo or Midoriya, but for different reasons. It was obvious why he wanted to put as much physical distance between himself and Bakugo, but Midoriya's reason was completely different.

Mineta's unexpected snarky comeback had effectively shut Bakugo up for a few seconds. Mineta took this opportunity to get up and walk to the door. _I've obviously overstayed my welcome here. Time to make an exit._

But Bakugo being Bakugo, he didn't like to be ignored. Enraged, he marched after Mineta, explosions at the ready, but not enough to damage school property, or cause grievous injuries.

"You think you can just ignore me you little shit? I'll blow you to smithereens!"

_Uh oh. This is where I get decked in the face, isn't it? _

But Mineta had a coincidental flashback of the first combat training earlier that year. It was when Midoriya had clashed against Bakugo in the "Villains vs Heroes" exercise. They both had put on quite a show, although Uraraka managed to get the bomb. In their infamous duel, Mineta remembered that Midoriya said that "Kacchan attacks with his right first." and that was how he dodged that first move.

Would it work for Mineta? Well, he was about to find out if he could pull that move off correctly. Eyeing the larger shadow that was easier to see thanks to his small size, he saw the explosive blond raising his right arm to strike him. _Wow, he DOES strike with his right first. How did Midoriya know that though? _

Mineta desperately ducked, hoping it had worked. Bakugo's hand swung over him, missing him completely. If Mineta had turned around to see his handiwork, he would of seen the surprised expression on Bakugo's face. However, Mineta was sweating a little, his nerves were now wracked once more. Mineta took advantage of Bakugo's stunned silence, and quickly exited and slammed the door behind him.

_Bye, Bakugo._

After narrowly escaping Bakugo's angry clutches, Mineta took a right down the hall way, and saw a rather familiar tuft of black hair slightly poking from the corner of the hallway.

Aizawa. Who else had hair like that? It kind of reminded Mineta of a overused toothbrush that desperately needed replacing. But why was he here? Didn't he leave for the day?

It was then he realized the place where Aizawa presumably was was perfect for listening to, it was the back of the classroom.

_Looks like Aizawa was eavesdropping. Not that Mineta could do anything, it wasn't exactly against the rules to listen to your troublesome students bicker, right?_

Mineta heard the door behind him open again. That was definitely Bakugo, still angry as ever. Mineta then began to speed walk towards Aizawa. He knew the teacher would ask why Mineta was approaching him, and he had to come up with a question to justify him just waltzing up to the teacher, instead of leaving the building. He had to be fast. He heard the class door slam open, and saw that Bakugo exited the room and also had spotted Mineta. He began to speed walk towards him as well, hatred in every stride. Mineta sweated a little again. He was still nervous. Old habits die hard.

"Something you need Mineta?" Aizawa had spotted Mineta approaching him. Aizawa had noticed that Mineta had a rather blank look, although his face seemed a little pale.

"Yes teacher, I just had a question about the practical." _Wow, s___mooth one Mineta, he definitely won't question that.__

"What about it?"

Mineta blurted out the first thing he could think of. "Will there be robots like the entrance exam? Or something completely different?"

Bakugo had spotted the teacher as well, and his stomping had slowed down to a walk, and eventually to a halt. _Phew._

"You'll just have to find out on exam day." Aizawa glanced down at the stack of papers gripped in his hands. Mineta took the opportunity to look at Bakugo dead in the eye, and with a smug grin, he mouthed a single word to Bakugo.

"_Kacchan."_

That seemed to hit a nerve. But with Aizawa standing right there, there was nothing Bakugo could really do. Growling, he turned and left.

Mineta turned his gaze back at his teacher. "Shouldn't we know what we're doing for the exams? Isn't that a little unfair towards the students?"

Aizawa responded with his trademark creepy grin. "Heroes will face unexpected situations in the field of work, if you're not ready to face them-"

"I shouldn't be in the hero department?" Mineta finished.

Aizawa raised his eyebrows. _Has this kid finally learned something about being a hero?_

Mineta thanked Aizawa for answering his questions, and left.

* * *

Ugh. He lifted his hands as he walked, and saw they were slightly shaking. He managed to make Bakugo look rather foolish, and was pretty proud of that. But the explosive student still managed to make Mineta nervous as hell.

Bakugo was a simple person in reality, he was _very _predictable.

In fact, Bakugo's autonomy could be compared to a chihuahua's autonomy.

50% Tremble.

50% Hatred.

And that was basically it. It was short and sweet, and 100% accurate. Mineta giggled to himself at his little joke, slightly lifting his spirits. But it was short lived, as he had to figure out what the hell was going to happen during the camp.

He had a lot to think about.

* * *

**Rewrite for chapter 2 is complete! Please Review/Fav/Follow if you enjoyed!**


	3. Hey, I've seen this one!

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 3****

****Hey, I've seen this one!****

* * *

After that eventful day, Mineta remembered the pressure of studying for the finals. Half of the class was now in a desperate frenzy to cram as much knowledge into their noggins. Mineta decided that he'd also study, even though he felt like he knew enough. He had passed both exams last time, but it still had been technically like 2 or 3 weeks since he first did the exams, so he didn't feel like tempting fate. Tempting fate was probably on the bottom of "Mineta's things to do" list, since last time he did, it ended with his untimely demise. It was only luck that he seemed to have a second quirk. Pure luck.

He absently noticed that Kaminari had refused to text him for the past few days, but Mineta honestly did not mind. He was still pretty mad about Mina and Kaminari calling him "Dumb" because he scored higher then them. Mineta felt he should give them the same treatment. Midoriya had also texted him a few minutes earlier about the whole situation.

* * *

_**MIDORIYA**_

(6:30 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Hey Mineta, are you doing alright?

(6:30 P.M.) **Midoriya: **You haven't really talked much since, that one day in class. You can talk to me if you want!

(6:30 P.M.) **Midoriya: **I don't mean to pry, if I did, I'm sorry. :(

(6:37 P.M.)** Mineta: **It's okay man, I'm okay now. Just got some things on my mind, no need to worry.

(6:38 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Oh, that's good to hear! :D

(6:38 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Uh, not that you got things on your mind, I mean that you're okay now. _

(6:41 P.M.) **Mineta: **Uh thanks. I'll see you later, got to study and stuff...

(6:42 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Alright! I'm glad to see you're studying! :) See you tomorrow!

* * *

The grape boy knew the bushy haired star of Class A was probably just concerned for his well being since the outburst in the class. Mineta found it oddly easier then last time to reassure Midoriya that he was alright, and Midoriya had nothing to worry about. But it was most likely easier for him because he was staring at a phone screen when he was communicating with Midoriya, and not looking at his big sad green eyes.

Midoriya was a nice boy, don't get Mineta wrong. He had no negative thoughts towards Midoriya, but when Midoriya suspected something was definitely wrong with someone, he would be nosy as hell.

It didn't seem like it at first glance, but once you've spent enough time around Midoirya you'd notice a cycle. After the time he'd spent around Midoriya, Mineta had identified each step of "The Midoriya Treatment" process.

It would seem innocent at first in the beginning. Once Midoriya happened to spot the person in an distress, he would give his victim some sad glances, but didn't speak to them. Yet. If the problem persisted, he'd approach the target, with his stuttering and shaky voice, it seemed like he kind of did not want to speak to you. But Mineta knew very well Midoriya was a persistent one. He'd talk to you, ask you what's wrong, and if you didn't want to talk, it would seem like he'd back down. But in reality he would still press on. But instead of asking blunt things like "hey what's wrong friend", Midoriya was very sly. He'd wait until a comfortable amount of time had passed, then he'd try to befriend you. After you become pals with him, it was kind of hard denying Midoriya answers. The reason it being difficult being the fact if you got attached to the bushy haired boy, it was next to impossible to say no to his green "Puppy eyes" technique.

Mineta couldn't harbor any anger towards him for his devious technique though. It was obvious Midoriya cared greatly for his classmates, and he'd gladly befriend anyone. Midoriya would make sure that his friends were okay, both physically and mentally. But that didn't stop Mineta for feeling a pang of pity for anyone foolish enough to shed a tear in front of Midoriya. If he saw you crying in front of him, you were signing yourself up to the "Midoriya Treatment"

But with text messages, it was easy to convince Midoriya it was perfectly fine. All that Mineta had to do was just press some buttons, and hit send. No hassle required. But he shook any negative thoughts off, he had to juggle the whole camp situation, and redoing the exams. Never in his life Mineta would find himself "Redoing" his exams. Most exams were one try only, as far as he knew.

Even if he did it already, he knew he should study still. Exams were something not to be treated lightly at all, even if he knew he'd probably pass. But one can never be too sure.

* * *

On the day of the written exams, Mineta found doing the written finals were no hassle, but that was no shocker to him. In a technicality, he had studied for _two whole weeks in preparation _for the finals. It had obviously had given him a boost in doing the written.

He finished it, he noted the time it took for him was rather quicker compared to the first time he did it. Mineta calmly turned his in, with a content sigh. He knew he most likely passed, as he used the same answers for the ones he knew. And maybe he might have had a random guess here and there, but that didn't matter, right? He was very well aware he'd pass the practical, that was for sure.

His train of thought was slightly put off rails thanks to him noticing Kaminari and Mina thanking Yaoyorozu for her assistance in studying, and how Kaminari mentioned how he didn't leave one answer blank. But Kaminari failed to mention if he filled them in knowing the answers, or just guessed on half of the test. Knowing Kaminari, it was a 50/50 chance.

Mineta felt irritation build up in his stomach once more. He still felt pretty bitter about Kaminari and Mina hounding him for having a high score. He shot them a look, only to see they were too busy borderline worshiping Yaoyorozu.

_Whatever._

After he broke off the angry gaze, as he realized it was pointless, he noticed something in the corner of his eye that Midoriya had stopped smiling. His lack of a smile told Mineta enough. Midoriya had caught on to the look Mineta just gave Kaminari and Mina.

Mineta took a deep breath. No reason to get worked up, he'd probaby turn back and chat with his friends, no reason to worry.

Midoriya's eye's had taken that sad/concerned look in his eyes once more. Which made Mineta begin to sweat.

_He hasn't spoken yet, no reason to worry. _

Out of all people who could of noticed something was clearly off about him, it had to be Midoriya. Murphy's Law was in full effect now, as well as Karma. Basically any bad luck was probably coming into effect right now.

__Oh boy.__

Mineta knew very well he couldn't risk losing his composure, so after controlling his emotions, he decided to play it cool. Mineta simply put on a mask of slight curiosity, with one eyebrow raised as he looked back at Midoriya. He prayed it would be enough to ward off Midoriya's wrath. It was a gamble when it came to Midoriya.

Midoriya finally spoke. "Are you nervous about the results of your finals, Mineta?"

Mineta slightly relaxed. He definitely didn't expect that question. But then again he briefly mention studying for his exams last time Midoriya had texted him, did Midoriya think the exams were stressing him that greatly? It seemed so. He absently noted that his mother had also assumed that Mineta's stress was coming from the upcoming exam._ Deja Vu._

But he couldn't take any chances of telling the truth to Midoriya. He'd just have to lie like last time, even though he _really _didn't want to. Mineta forced a slightly embarrassed expression on his face, and rubbed the back of his head, making himself look bashful. "Y-yeah, it's just they seem so confident, and I tend to mess up stuff a lot." That was true for most of the time, and it stung him to admit that. Mineta definitely wasn't Number One Hero material.

He subconsciously relaxed when Midoriya gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Mineta! With you're ranking I'm sure you did fine! You should be more confident in yourself!"

He appreciated the reassurance from his friend, but another thing that Mineta wasn't the biggest fan of showed itself. Midoriya's smile was just about the purest thing known to man. Once he was in a good mood, he flashed his pearly whites, and the entire area he was in would glow. You'd probably damage your retina's if you looked directly at Midoriya when he smiled. His smile was literally blinding.

"Midoriya is correct! You must have faith in your academic abilities!" Iida had apparently joined the conversation, though Mineta didn't bother turning around to see if Iida was right behind him, or shouting from across the room. Iida had mastered the act of throwing his voice. You would be chatting with someone and hear him talk to you, so you'd turn around to respond. Only to see he was actually thirty feet to the left of you. And he'd continue to speak before you managed to say anything like "Hey Iida I didn't know you could teleport".

Even though he felt a bit guilty for lying to his friends, he still felt touched at the gestures from his friends. "You're right Midoriya. It's just the finals are very nerve wracking." Mineta said, hoping that they'd believe him.

His answer seemed to fool Midoriya, who's concerned face went into a normal relaxed one. Thank All Might he bought it, Mineta was definitely testing his luck. The bespectacled Iida didn't say anything, so Mineta guessed he was seemingly satisfied as well. So, no worries!

But he knew it was almost time for the practical, so he had to prepare for that. Even if he'd win, he'd have to be more prepared

But earlier, when they had all sat down to do the written, if Mineta had been a bit more vigilant, he would have noticed a certain pink skinned girl staring at him suspiciously.

* * *

**Practical Exam Area – Center Plaza**

Class A was gathered entirely around a group of teachers outside a building. It was now time for their practical exams, and it was something they couldn't "Study" for. That was something that made some of them uneasy.

"Now we will begin the practical exam." Aizawa said to the group of students. "Of course, it is possible to fail this exam. If you want to go to the training camp then don't make any stupid mistakes." Aizawa's tone was slightly bored, but had a firm tone. The students understood very well of what he meant.

Jirou seemed to take notice of the presence of the other teachers standing by Aizawa. "There are a lot of teachers..." Jirou said, scratching her head in confusion. She didn't seem to like the fact there was a surprising amount of teachers here.

Aizawa continued. "I expect you all have gathered information ahead of time, and have some idea of what you are doing."

Mineta seemed to light up a little, he had done this before! He knew exactly what they would do! He raised his hand hesitantly speaking up. "I do sir." Mineta said, making the tired teacher raise his bored expression on Aizawa told Mineta very well what the Pro Hero was currently thinking_. ___He thinks I'm full of it.__

Aizawa did not respnd at all, so Mineta took the silence as an okay to continue. "For the practical, I'm gue-"

He would of finished, if the shrieking of his classmates didn't cut him off.

"WE'RE FIGHTING ROBOT WARRIORS LIKE AT THE ENTRANCE EXAM, RIGHT?" Kaminari shouted with glee. "FIREWORKS! CURRY! TEST OF COURAGE!" It seemed Mina took this opportunity to chime in as well, she was borderline bouncing in place, completely carefree.

However, they were very, very, wrong. For a certain rodent would inform them that they were not fighting robots.

"Too bad!" Principal Nezu's voice could be heard. Mineta vaguely recalled he was buried in Eraserheads scarf or whatever that was. And right on cue, he popped out, unceremoniously shoving Aizawa's head slightly to the side. "For various reasons, the exam will be different this time!"

"Principal Nezu?!" Some students said in surprise. It seems that the students hadn't expected Nezu pop out of Aizawa like they were in a Ridley Scott film. Mineta knew Nezu would come out, but that didn't make it any less bizarre to look at. It was a white rodent that talked and walked on two legs, that just seemingly popped out of a man who looked like he was about to fall asleep right then and there.

Yaoyorozu stiffened at Nezu saying the exam would be different. "Different?" she said nervously. Different didn't sound good to her. UA had a knack for having sudden changes and unusual class activities. But they've been at UA long enough, so they should of expected this. It was more expected in class though, not at the practical exam!

"Yes!" Nezu said. He climbed down Aizawa's side, holding on to a loose section of the Pro Heroe's scarf like a bungee cord. But to Mineta's surprise, instead of informing them of the situation, Nezu looked straight at Mineta. "But you said you had an idea of what these were, didn't you Mineta?"

Mineta looked at the furry principal standing in front of him. He was listening to the entire conversation? Mineta felt slightly grateful that someone had at least noticed that he was about to give his answer, at least before he got interrupted by two troublesome low scorers.

Mineta hesitantly nodded at Nezu. "Um, yes. I think I have a decent idea."

Nezu's smile grew at Mineta's confident reply. "Then please, tell us what you think the exams will be!"

He knew exactly what the final was. And how it worked. Should he just tell them straight up? Or would that cause suspicion? He learned that saying exactly what happened wasn't always the brightest idea, Bakugo's tantrum had taught him that.

__Screw it. __Mineta thought. He wouldn't get in trouble probably, just earn a few weird looks. Just make it look believable, that he was making educated guesses. He'd have to add a few words to make it look like he had just thought of this on the spot.

_Here goes nothing. _Mineta took a deep breath in, and began. "Well, since recent events, I'm guessing the tests would be changed in order for students to adjust better in order to prepare for real hero work on the field. Since all our teachers are gathered here, I suspect we'll be fighting them?"

Aizawa's eyes widened. He didn't expect Mineta of all people to guess what the exams were about. That was something that someone like Iida would guess. __This kid's sharp. I'll have to keep a closer eye on him.__

Nezu didn't seemed to be surprised in the least, he kept his smile on. "And why do you think that?" Nezu's tone didn't betray any suspicion, in fact he seemed rather pleased at Mineta's "guessing", so it seemed the grape boy was in the clear to keep talking. He continued, "Well, for the entrance exam, only Present Mic was there to tell us to go, and that was that. And for our first combat training, All Might was there. Unless you guys are here for emotional support, I suspect you'll be our opponents. But..." Mineta trailed off.

"But what?" Nezu inquired. "Go on." Mineta noted Nezu's tone had a tinge of genuine curiosity now. _No reason to stop now I guess. _"There's no way we'd be able to take a teacher on in a one versus one scenario..." He turned his back to the teachers, and counted the students, then turned back and counted the teachers. "It would be two students versus a teacher?" Mineta said. He hoped that was a convincing performance for Nezu. It was really hard to tell in all honestly, since the fact the little rodent was still staring at Mineta with his little smile.

Nezu smiled. "You are correct Mineta!" Mineta didn't like how happy Nezu sounded.

Some of the students standing by him began to whisper nervously. Uraraka, Midoriya's crush, seemed extra anxious at this new development. "Against the teachers?" She said.

Nezu was not finished though. He turned to Mineta once more."But, perhaps you should recount the students compared to the teachers! Tell me, do you notice something off about the number?"

Mineta knew well abou the extra number, but he'd have to pretend he didn't. He turned and squinted at the group of students, then turned back to the teachers. Finally he made his eyes widen on purpose, as if he was suddenly surprised. He quickly faced Nezu. "But there's two extra students. Will a teacher be used twice?" He asked innocently, knowing that All Might was probably about to materialize any second now. Nezu had more of an amused grin instead of a normal smile now. He seemed to have bought it. "Aren't you forgetting the person who teaches Hero Basic Training in your class Mineta?"

**"I AM HERE!"** __Right on cue. Very tacky, All Might.__

The huge form of All Might somehow landed graciously on the ground. "Young Mineta is correct! And I will be fighting young Bakugo and Midoriya! They are a team!"

The two students in question looked in shock at each other after they were done gawking at All Might.

"All Might?" The two heroes in training said in absolute horror. All Might's form towered over the now seemingly minuscule students that trembled in front of him. Neither of them looked like they wanted to be here anymore.

All Might nodded. "Work together to beat me, you two!" His smile was still huge as ever. _He must be looking forward to fighting his students. Yikes._

Both students sweatdropped at All Might's unnerving enthusiasm towards the possibility he'd get to deck his students in the face.

"Todoroki, Yaoyorozu." Aizawa said. Both students tore their gaze from the massive form that was All Might and faced Aizawa. The underground hero had a sadistic smile on his face. "You two will be fighting me." Aizawa also sounded oddly excited at the concept of throwing hands with his students as well.

Nezu took this opportunity to explain the rules of the exam. "The time limit is thirty minutes!" Nezu held up a pair of custom made handcuffs. "You're objective is either to put these handcuffs on the teachers, or to have one of you escape from the stage!"

Kaminari stroked his chin. "Capture the teacher, or escape...it's kind of like the combat training." He didn't sound too nervous anymore, oddly enough.

Mina cautiously raised her hand. "Is it really okay to run away?" Mina sounded like she could be scolded just for saying that.

"Yup!" Nezu said, giving a thumbs up.

"But it'll be different from the combat training!" Present Mic shouted. "You'll be up against someone waaaaay better then you!" said the Pro Hero while making weird motions with his hands, as if he was using a turntable.

"Better... than us?" Jirou said thoughtfully. "I can't really imagine it though..." She said innocently.

That comment made Mineta wince. _Ego much?_

"DUMMY!" Mic shouted, obviously outraged at Jirou's cocky demeanor . "HEY GIRL, WATCH YOUR MOUTH, YOU HEAR?"

Well, at least someone else didn't think that was a good thing to say.

Thirteen raised their finger. "This time, your exam will be very similar to a real battle. Please think of us as villains."

Snipe joined the conversation as well. "Assuming you come across the enemy, if you think you can win in a fight against them, that's fine. However..."

Aizawa took the stage once more. "In cases where there's too big a difference in your abilities, it would be smarter to run away and get help." The Pro Hero's gaze shifted to three students in particular. "Torodoki, Iida, Midoriya, I'm sure you three understand this well." The three students shuffled uncomfortably. Mineta raised an eyebrow at that. Didn't those three have an encounter with that Stain guy? If so, Mineta felt that it was uncalled for. They were all just students!

All Might went to explain how the teachers would use weights to put on half their body weight. But Mineta had zoned out. He had heard this before. Aizawa explained the teams and their respective teacher oppenents. Then he mentioned how the first two students would have to get ready. The teachers exited the premise.

Some of the students followed, and Mineta was going to follow after, but something grinded his gears. "Principal Nezu? This will be laughably easy!" Kaminari said, pumping his fist. Mineta didn't remember him saying that. But what Mineta said to the electric boy made some of the students stop and turn to look at him in surprise.

"You'll fail."

It was true. Even with those silly little weights, the teachers were not to be underestimated in the least. And he already knew of Kaminari and Mina's crushing defeat at the hands of Nezu's crane thingy. He heard that they just ran around doing basically nothing until time ran out.

Kaminari stopped in the middle of his early celebration. "Eh?" It was obvious he didn't expect for Mineta to say that, let alone anything at all on this topic.

"With that attitude, you're going to fail the exam." Mineta said.

Mina came to Kaminari's aid, angered at Mineta's bluntness. "You'll probably just run away you little pipsqueak!" Her voice held venom, her carefree attitude seemingly disappearing instantly.

_Well, she's not wrong. I will run._

"But I'll pass. Unlike you two." Mineta was fed up by now. "Sero, let's go. I'd like form a plan on how to beat Midnight. I suggest you two do the same. When it comes to Nezu, he's the smartest teacher here." Mineta turned and grumpily trotted inside.

Sero gulped at the unexpected tension, and followed Mineta.

* * *

**And the rewrite for chapter 3 is finished! Old readers will see that the text conversation was never there, so it's a brand new feature! Hope you guys liked it, and if you enjoyed Review/Follow/Fav! Ciao!**


	4. Keep your cool! Exams start now!

**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 4**

**Keep your cool! Exams start now!**

* * *

After the short, but tense confrontation a few minutes earlier, the last thing Sero had been expecting was Mineta to ask him to form a _plan _of all things. Then again, Mineta these past few days had been doing a lot of things that Sero would never have expected. The only question is, why?

Sero was no professional psychiatrist, but he could at least guess sudden flips of someones personality were usually caused by something happening to the person, most likely traumatic? It didn't just happen normally, so there was obviously more than meets the eye. Question was, what exactly happened that made him like this?

Was Mineta attacked by someone? Sero couldn't see any injuries on Mineta arms or legs, and his face seemed fine. Sero knew that Mineta hadn't skipped school. So it wasn't that something bad happened to him, because he probably would have been absent for a day or two. But Mineta had a perfect attendance. And the school hadn't informed the students of something happening, so it couldn't of been that.

Still, it was rather strange for Mineta to change like that. It was as if something in him snapped. Sero was decently intelligent, not exactly high tier brains like Yaoyorozu, but he paid attention in class. Mostly.

Sero remembered that when Mineta changed, it was when Aizawa had announced that the finals were a week away, that was when things had turned for the worst.

Before that, Mineta had been his old, unlikable, pervy self. Eyeing the girls rears during training, drooling over Midnight or Mt Lady, or making perverted comments about the girls in his class. And just obsessing over every attractive female in general, just Mineta being himself. Not that everyone liked Mineta for who he was, but it's what he was, and everyone knew Mineta for being that way. But then he changed, not just a slow, eventual change either. It was like someone had flipped a switch, and changed Mineta for the worst.

In reality, he didn't realize it at first, but he had saw that Mineta had changed _before _he lashed out at Kaminari that day in class. When Mineta walked in, he was...different.

The grape boy had the most blank expression, his eyes completely dull. They weren't empty or devoid of life, but something was definitely wrong. His eyes seemed almost hardened. Before the change, Mineta's had an infamous way of entering the classroom. First, he'd try to get a glance at one of his female classmates, with the respective females giving him a glare of disgust in return. He'd then ignore the looks and greet the few people that actually talked to him, then sat down. But when he entered that one day...

Nothing. He didn't even glance at the girls, just walked by everyone to his seat with a blank look, ignoring the conversations around him or the greeting from Kaminari, who just assumed Mineta didn't hear him and continued conversing with Midoriya and Mina.

He eerily reminded Sero of a mannequin.

Ever since that day, Mineta had been noticeably more prickly now. He didn't randomly lash out at people though, if you played nice to him, he'd play nice as well. It was when people wanted to start something he'd get irritated. And Mineta would get irritated quickly. He never yelled loudly at someone when he got mad, but when he did seem to get irritated at someone, he didn't back down. The worst part is that he rarely had a smug tone. It was just this cold, bored voice. Not exactly monotone. And when the argument was done, no matter who seemed to have the last word, it would just end. Mineta would turn back into his seat and continue working as if nothing ever happened. No dirty looks were shot to the opposing student when their back was turned, nothing. It was as if Mineta completely forgot the argument had ever happened.

Sero was going to get answers from Mineta. How he would, he didn't know. Sero occasionally would greet Mineta, and he would greet back, and that was that. He wasn't exactly chummy with the small grape headed boy, only occasionally having talked with Mineta once or twice. Nothing really spectacular. It seemed he'd have to figure out later how to ask him without coming by as suspicous.

"But we're lucky," Mineta's voice shook Sero from his thoughts. "That it's just Midnight we're up against." Mineta's voice was a bit cocky, but a touch of confidence could be heard as well.

Sero tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "Why do you say that?" Mineta sounded like was about to strategize something, so Sero figured he would listen if he could get more out of the little grape headed boy.

Mineta raised a finger, as if a light bulb switched on in his head. "When it comes to our quirks, we could just cover her and immobilize her. Both our quirks are mostly capture based, effectively immobilizing the opponent." He tapped one of the grapes still on his head. "We'd be able to do it quickly if we played it smart."

That was another thing that made Sero well aware of Mineta's sudden change. The way his attitude was towards troublesome situations in training class. Other then his pretty decent academic ranking, he never really was for making plan. Sero recalled having a conversation with Tsuyu, and how she elaborated on how Mineta had freaked out and cried during the attack on the USJ. But Midoriya and Tsuyu had kept their cool the entire time, mostly. But suddenly, Mineta now had a more cool headed attitude towards combat situations. He liked to analyze situations now, almost like how Midoriya mumbled his plans he formulated on the spot. And that usually had worked.

"Sero! Are you even listening to me?" Sero felt little hands tugging at his arm. He shook his head, and looked down. Mineta was looking up at him with a pout on his face. Only after a few seconds passed did he realize Mineta was still in the middle of his speech, and Sero had spaced out right in front of him. Sero felt his face heat up with embarrassment. "R-right." Sero chuckled nervously. "Minds all jumbled, since we're going against a teacher." Well, it wasn't a lie. His nerves were positively wracked.

Mineta mostly didn't seem to bothered at Sero's spacing out. "Relax," Mineta said. "In a technical term, Midnight is the weakest teacher. We're lucky we're fighting her."

But Sero didn't seem convinced. His expression screamed disbelief. Why was Mineta so confident about this? This was a Pro Hero! Quirks didn't matter if these were the top tier Pro Heroes

Sighing, Mineta continued. "Technically, Midnight could be considered a normal person, just with the knockout gas of hers. And even if she did have some exercise, the weights she is wearing is half her body weight, it'll quite literally weigh her down. And she only has a whip, which isn't exactly the greatest thing for combat in my opinion. Just don't breath in, and it'll be a cinch." Mineta ironically had to take a big inhale after he finished his explaination, as he had said all of that on one breath.

Mineta did have a point, Midnight was a formidable opponent, but she was no All Might or Eraserhead. Even though the grape boy had been acting rather odd lately, he did have valid points. Perhaps he didn't need to be sweating like crazy. Sero eventually found himself nodding. "Yeah, you are right. This should be a piece of cake!" He trailed off, since Mineta seemed to be giggling to himself. "What's so funny?"

The purple boy stifled his laughter. "It's just, I find it funny how we're gonna pass, and Kaminari and Mina won't."

Okay, Sero didn't think Mineta would say _that._ The old Mineta at least, he wouldn't say that. The new one however...

_What has gotten into you Mineta?_

Sero frowned. "Are you sure? They make a decent team."

Mineta lifted a finger. "Hey to be fair, they can get very cocky. They were the lowest scorers as well. They've got bratty attitudes as well if they get too confident, and they seem to lose cool if the situation is bad enough for them. They're against what's probably the smartest thing alive. In my personal opinion, it's a bit unfair for them, but I won't go too much into detail." Mineta would wait until Kaminari and Mina failed. Then he'd shove it in their faces.

Truth be told, if you had asked him, Mineta couldn't tell you where this newfound hostility towards everyone came from. He'd felt different ever since he woke up. Everything seemed different as well. The fact he was from the future was a shock to him, but he felt like he'd adjusted. But he felt a change in him as well. A feeling he couldn't explain at first, but when he realized what it was, he was proud of it.

Resolve. He felt like he was brand new. He felt more confident, and he felt like he actually had a spine now. If someone would push him, he'd push back. And it felt pretty nice actually. He was going to save everyone, and nothing would stop him from doing that. Even Bakugo, even though he was borderline intolerable. It was the right thing for him to do.

And now he was going to retake the practical, and he already knew he would pass, so it was already in the bag. It felt a bit too easy.

* * *

Midoriya and Uraraka seemed surprised to see Mineta and Sero come into the spectator room. They both stood in front of the giant screen that broadcasted the fights between the students and the teachers, with multiple camera angles and zoom ins. Expensive stuff, but they knew very well UA could afford this kind of tech, since they had the #1 Pro Hero working in their school. Mineta noted with amusement how Midoriya and Uraraka were standing awfully close to each other.

Ever since those two had met, Mineta never really noticed at first, but now with another try at life, he'd noticed how the two students acted near each other. It was obvious they both had feelings, but were both too nervous to speak to each other when it came to that kind of stuff. It was adorable to watch in all honesty.

"Ah, Sero! Mineta! Hey!" Midoriya greeted with a smile and a wave. Sero responded with a friendly wave of himself, and stood by Uraraka. Mineta decided to place himself by Midoriya, him and Sero effectively sandwiching Uraraka and Midoriya together. Mineta didn't respond to Midoriya's greeting at first, and he had his reasons. This was the first time he did this. He never went into the spectator room to watch his classmates fight their respective teachers. And that meant he might not know what people were going to say. He'd actually have to experience new something for the first time in a while. Which meant Mineta was actually unprepared. Mineta knew that this was going to be an interesting experience.

Midoriya seemed to pick up on the lack of Mineta's response when he initially greeted him, and Mineta seemed to just be staring blankly at the screen.

_" But I'll pass. Unlike you two."_

"So, uh... Mineta?" Midoriya began.

The grape haired boy looked up. "Hm?" Mineta looked up with mild interest, as if he was deep in thought.

"You said you and Sero we're gonna uh, plan right? Do you think you got it figured out?" Midoriya said hesitantly, not wanting to sound insulting to the boy who stood by him.

Mineta narrowed his eyes. "I don't _think _I have it figured out, I _know_I have it figured out." Mineta's voice held confidence, and cockiness as well. Midoriya didn't know whether to be slightly intimidated by his confidence, or be happy he had finally started believing in himself, like he advised Mineta to earlier.

Kirishima and Sato had failed,the two students favored their brawn over their brains, and it ended in their downfall against Cementoss. The next group was up to fight their chosen teacher. Midoriya hadn't even noticed their unfortunate failure at first until Uraraka had nudged him and pointed at the screen with a sad look.

It wasn't like the Sports Festival. Instead of fellow students, they clashed against teachers, and it hurt Midoriya's little heart to see his friends fail. And with how confident Mineta had suddenly become, he really hoped the small grape boy succeeded. He'd probably need the boost of confidence for himself.

"And I'm sorry about that Midoriya." Mineta's voice shook Midoriya out of his thoughts.

Midoriya's face scrunched in at Mineta's response. "Eh?" Why was Mineta apologizing? Had he done soemthing wrong?

"About your exam." Mineta clarified, seeing the befuddled expression plastered on the green haired boy's face.

Midoriya didn't recall a bad score on his exam. What was he trying to imply?

"Being paired up with Bakugo must be really unpleasant." Mineta deadpanned. He had a slight frown, as if saying the word "Bakugo" left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

_Oh. _Midoriya sweatdropped. He'd been trying to not think about it ever since All Might informed him that the explosive blonde was going to be his ally in the practical. Against All Might himself no less, that was also something to be very concerned about. Midoriya didn't hate Bakugo, but he knew better than anyone that being within his vicinity was not the most enjoyable thing to experience. But Mineta's recent interactions with Bakugo however...

_" Let me guess, you'll kill me?"_

"O-oh. It's alright, we'll figure something out!" Midoriya tried to say cheerfully. He didn't want to think about being paired with Bakugo, or his classmates fighting. They were UA, they shouldn't be having petty disputes like that, right?

Amused at Midoriya's attempt at being cheerful, Mineta chuckled. He knew that the two boys had passed, despite all odds. Though his thoughts when this first happened, still popped up. It seemed almost impossible for Midoriya and Bakugo to beat All Might himself. But he'd entertain the thought of being cheerful, just to make Midoriya happy. Besides, seeing Midoriya all sad probably would physically damage someone who saw it. "Plus Ultra?" He tried Midoriya's favorite catchphrase, that would always get Midoriya excited.

That seemed to be the correct thing to say, Midoriya's smile lit up. "Plus Ultra!" he whispered. But then, Midoriya's smile slowly died as he looked at Mineta, and made the grape boy rather uncomfortable under Midoriya's judgmental gaze. Did he do something wrong?

Midoriya realized at that moment that Mineta was trying to distract him. Trying to throw him off his scent. But why was he doing this? Mineta's behavior these past days had been concerning him, and he'd been meaning to ask him about it. He guessed now was a good time as ever to try. "Mineta, how are you doing?" Midoriya asked as non accusingly as he could. He didn't want to irritate him with the question, and hoped it didn't sound too harsh.

Mineta noticeably tensed up at the question. He'd been hoping Midoriya wouldn't notice. Scratch that, he'd been hoping **no one **had noticed the change in his behavior. He hadn't been really paying attention to anyone's reactions to his new attitude, he'd been to focused on shutting everything out, hoping that the summer camp would come quicker so he could stop the villains from harming any of the teachers, the students, or the pussycats. It was his job, and he needed to prepare.

He had to be smart, but what here could throw Midoriya off? He had to think fast, before Midoriya noticed. Midoriya was definitely no fool, and he'd have to hit a topic that would get Midoriya flustered. "I'm doing alright, but you're doing fine, seeing your current situation, Midoriya." The look Midoriya gave him in response told Mineta that he had definitely thrown the green haired boy off, but he had to hit the target to finish it.

"What do you mean?" Midoriya said curiously, not understanding what Mineta was trying to say. His eyebrow was raised, and his head was slightly tilted to one side.

Mineta went for the bullseye. He motioned for Midoriya to bend over, and when the boy did, he delivered the final blow.

"You and Uraraka go really well together, huh?" Mineta whispered.

_Bingo._

Midoriya's face went red as a beet, quickly standing back up straight and stuttering in denial.

"W-what? N-no! I don't! Sh-she's..." Midoriya stuttered, waving his hands in a frantic motion.

"Deku?" Uraraka seemed to notice the very obvious flustered Midoriya. "Deku, what's wrong? Why's your face red? Are you ill? Should I call Recovery Girl?" Uraraka said while leaning a bit too close to Midoriya, her chocolate eyes full of concern for the green haired boy. "Do you have a fever?"

Without warning, Uraraka put her hand to Midoriya's forehead to check to see if he indeed had a fever, causing Midoriya to freak out even more.

Midoriya looked like he was ready to melt into a puddle."I-I'm fine!" he squeaked. "N-nothing to worry about!" He waved his hands all over the place, finally settling to bury his face in his hands while turning his back to Uraraka.

She didn't seem convinced. "Deku, are you absolutely sure? Because if not, Recovery Girl isn't too far..."

"I'm sure!" Midoriya managed to say behind his hands. Mineta was pretty sure the green haired boy's legs threatened to give out.

Mineta smiled at the rather cute display happening in front of him. _ Wow, that worked like a charm! I can see why people enjoy those romance books and movies, it's entertaining!_

Other then the rather entertaining outcome of that scenario, Mineta had succeeded in throwing Midoriya off his trail. For now, at least. After the little distraction, the group watched as Tsuyu and Tokoyami took on Ectoplasm. Recovery Girl had also decided to join the group and watch them take on the clone based Pro Hero. Mineta already knew that they had succeeded, so he began to think about the camp attack situation once more.

* * *

How would he handle the situation of the villains at the camp? The purple smoke was obviously poisonous, unless the League Of Villains had decided to visit their local fireworks store and purchase roughly 5,000 pounds of purple colored smoke bombs. And they also had one of their members light them and scatter them throughout the forest while the students were training.

As amusing as the idea was, this was the League Of Villains. As Mineta remembered, they didn't exactly hold children's lives in high esteem. Well, they didn't value any lives if Mineta was going to be honest. And with the smoke situation, his counter for that would obviously be gas masks. But where would he get that many? Combined with Class A and B, that would be a ton of gas masks. And how would he afford it?

_Yaoyorozu. _Her quirk was absolutely perfect for that problem.

Question was, how would he convince Yaoyorozu to make them all those gas masks?

* * *

**Rewrite for 4 has been completed! Added a bit more stuff just like last time! And to the situation of Mineta's sudden odd change, if you feel like that's rather sudden, let me explain. Mineta basically has PTSD, and I looked up some details online to get the specific reason and I think I have a good explanation. The stuff I looked up said that "PTSD" mostly will happen with people who have been severely stress relating to violence if they have been attacked,tortured, etc. One of the long lasting/permanent effects could be paranoid towards the things around them, and feelings of social withdrawal, and are easily irritated. And they also have very low tolerance for stressful situations. Source: NCBI "Enduring Personality Changes after Intense Stressful Even: Case Report" Hope that explains it! Please Review/Follow/Fav if you happen to like this story!**


	5. Play it cool, be yourself

**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 5**

**Awaiting their downfall.**

* * *

Mineta knew he had to brainstorm solutions to his Yaoyorozu problem. That was his number one priority out of everything else at the moment, since his succeeding in saving the class depended on her cooperation.

He was vaguely aware of Recovery Girl complimenting Tsuyu and Tokoyami for their teamwork as his classmates watched in anticipation, but saving lives was more important to him at the moment.

As far as Mineta knew, he and Yaoyorozu were definitely not on good terms. What was the last memory he had with her in it at all?

_Yaoyorozu was pretty disgusted when I latched on to her back in the Sports Festival. _

Yeah, yikes. He had kind of forgot about how he had used the event in the Sports Festival as an excuse just to touch another female in his class. Thinking back on it, he wasn't too proud of it anymore. And for reasons other than the Sports Festival, he was basically hated by anyone that was female, excluding Recovery Girl. Recovery Girl just thought he was a weird little gremlin, which wasn't too far from the truth. He wondered how was he going to convince Yaoyorozu to even talk to him? Had she noticed his change that other day? Hopefully not. Mineta knew he needed to people to think he was his old perverted self, not...whatever he was now. If Yaoyorozu noticed his change, and that he wasn't a perverted kid...it would bring trouble if he started talking to her a lot more often about random stuff like making gas masks.

Mineta had been so busy thinking about his "situation", he failed to notice Tsuyu and Tokoyami had beaten Ectoplasma. With Tsuyu's quick thinking and Dark Shadow's speed, they had bested the clone based Pro Hero. The other three students in the spectator room cheered with joy, ecstatic as the Pro Hero congratulated them for their victory. Midoriya and Uraraka especially seemed ecstatic about their froggy friend succeeding the practical. Made sense, since they were close friends as of now.

It seemed Iida and Ojiro would now go against Power Loader, the Pro Hero, who was best known for his inventions and brains, and how he also was always seen scolding Hatsume Mei for something she did at least once a day. It always ended with her talking about how "She learned something from failure" or something, to Mineta's knowledge. It apparently would end with Power Loader facepalming or something like that at Mei's shenanigans.

Mineta honestly felt that he could really use her optimism right about now, because the idea of going against God knows how many villains during the camp attack really made him nervous. Mineta was no kung fu fighter like Ojiro, and his stubby legs didn't exactly give him the agility needed for those fancy moves either. The luck that was favoring him these past days seemed to be disappearing, probably used it all. Well, if he knew he had luck to be used, he would of used it very sparingly, but it seemed that time had passed long ago.

Even if a miracle happened, and Yaoyorozu agreed to make enough gas masks for the entirety of class A and B, how could he get them all to the students in time? Poison gas or smoke wasn't usually known for taking a long time to take effect, since it usually depends on the person **breathing **the smoke into their lungs.

The thought still disturbed Mineta greatly. While he knew he had died at the very beginning of the villain attack, how many would have died if it had kept going instead of restarting?

A mental image of his fellow students choking and collapsing after accidentally inhaling the toxic smoke made him shiver. That was a disturbing thought. He swallowed uncomfortably. Sure he didn't really like Kaminari or Ojiro right now, but the mental image of them dying in agony hurt his chest. Or was that his heart hurting at the thought of his friends hurting? Even if he wasn't on very good terms with those two, he couldn't let them die.

* * *

"**Team Iida and Ojiro have passed!"**

"Aw yeah!"

"They're both amazing!"

"Iida's pretty cool!"

Mineta was brought back to reality once more by his excited friends cheering for the quick class rep and tailed student managing to beat Power Loader with their smart plan to outsmart the Pro Hero.

_Wait a second. _

Mineta's train of thought came to a halt as the answer to his problem presented itself right to his face.

_Iida._

Well, forget about what he said before, luck seemed to have rematerialized since the solution for his problem was literally announced for him. Iida was perfect for the task, he was the fastest on foot in the class! Well Midoriya and Bakugo were a close second. Iida could just get the bag of gas masks and run around the forest! That would work! If he managed to convince Yaoyorozu to make the gas masks, Iida would probably be more than happy to help, right?

A few seconds of his friends cheers dying down to normal conversation brought him back to reality.

Oh yeah, they were taking practical exams weren't they? He needed to stop getting lost in thought so easily. At least he wasn't in a combat scenario in class training, because distractions during those was basically an invitation to your defeat. And probably a bad grade from Aizawa, he didn't like slackers. And speaking of his teacher... If he remembered correctly, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki were about to take their practical, in a fight against Aizawa.

Aizawa wasn't exactly the Number 1 Hero, but he could still use people like Mineta as a makeshift kickball. Even though they won, Mineta never watched the first time. Yaoyorozu scored like first in the midterms right? She had this in the bag. He was wrong.

Mineta actually observed the exam this time, and watched as Yaoyorozu actually _struggled _in her fight against Aizawa. It felt unusual how seeing someone usually composed as her was borderline crying at some points, probably from stress. But she finally managed to work with a slightly reluctant Todoroki, and actually managed to best Aizawa, to the group's delight. Yaoyorozu began to cry (Tears of joy hopefully) while Recovery Girl called Eraserhead out for being such a softie.

Nervous chuckling could be heard, and it came from the brown haired girl in the room. She turned to Midoriya. "Ehehe...well, I guess it's my turn," Uraraka said nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. She wasn't the most confident about her final, especially with her teammate. Especially when she tried to form a plan of attack earlier, to no avail.

* * *

"_Aoyama, what do you think we should do when it comes to Thirte-"_

_Uraraka trailed off, seeing as her flamboyant classmate was currently posing in the mirror, obviously admiring the 'twinkle' of his costume. (But the twinkle of his cape was pretty snazzy but Uraraka wasn't about to encourage that sort of behavior when they, well at least Uraraka, was trying to plan how to pass their practical._

* * *

She nervously turned around, and began to walk away to the exit. Mineta swore that her hands might have been shaking just a little bit, not enough to notice at first glance. But Mineta saw, and Midoirya probably did as well. Her helpless expression that didn't scream "Confidence" wasn't helping her situation either. Mineta notice the slight movement from Midoriya, who looked like he wanted to stop Uraraka, but seemed to be frozen to the ground. His expression was in "Concern Mode" though, so maybe he would? Well, Mineta wasn't about to risk that.

"Psst, Midoriya!" Midoriya looked down at Mineta who tugged at his sleeve. "You just gonna let Uraraka put herself down like that? Right before her exam? You should give her some advice or something, or tell her she'll do fine! I think she'd really appreciate it."

Midoriya looked with wide eyes as he absorbed what the grape haired boy had said to him. Mineta was right. What was he doing? Seeing his usually bubbly best friend lacking in confidence hurt his heart to the point of almost having to put his hands on his chest. He couldn't just let her walk off! He jogged after Uraraka as she walked out of the spectating room.

* * *

"Uraraka! Wait up a sec!" The chocolate haired girl in question turned to see her best friend Midoriya chasing after her. "Can I talk to you for a second? It's important!" Uraraka smiled at his manners. Usually normal people would come up to her and start speaking their mind without even greeting or asking, but Deku always asked permission. Even if they were already good friends, he was still always so polite to people no matter who it was. It was one of the many little things that made Uraraka lo- uh, like Deku in a platonic, non romantic way. _Best buddies in fact! Friendship! Besties! That was it!_

Uraraka found her face to be burning until Deku's voice shook her from her stupor. "Uraraka!"

"O-oh, s-sorry!" Uraraka said. "What did you need Deku?" her face was still burning slightly, now from embarrassment of not acknowledging Deku the first time. Well, now she was paying attention.

The last thing she expected was Deku to take both his hands and clasped them around her right one. Her face quickly began to heat up once more. The feeling of Deku's gloved, yet somehow soft hands gently close over her hand made Uraraka want to melt.

"Uwaaah? D-Deku?" Uraraka managed to squeak out. Deku was holding her hand! **Her** hand!

Deku had a warm smile on his little freckled face, making Uraraka blush even more. "Uraraka! You gotta be more confident in yourself! You're a hero! Even if your teammate isn't the most compatible, but that's what being a hero is about! You should smile and do your best! I believe in you!"

Despite almost fainting from embarrassment at Deku's rather bold move..._no Deku wasn't making a "move" on her at all what was she thinking Deku was just trying to encourage her that's it and that's all it'll be, won't be anything else nope._

"Uraraka."  
His serious tone snapped the girl out of it. "Please, be confident that you can do it! You should take this exam on with a smile!" Deku's voice held a sincere tone to it, along with a tinge of concern for her lack of self confidence that she displayed earlier.

He was right! What was she thinking? Thirteen was a Pro Hero, at least it wasn't as bad as fighting All Might, she'd definitely take Aoyama as a partner over Bakugo. She winced, she hoped Deku would pass, even if all odds were against the green haired boy.

She had a small smile grow on her face. "You're right Deku! I'll do my best! Plus Ultra, right?"

Deku's smile grew and nodded, and released her hand. "Good luck Uraraka! We'll be rooting for you!"

The girl jogged off to join Aoyama and waved back at Midoriya. Midoriya smiled and waved back. He was delighted to see she had more bounce in her step now. He took a second to remember the feeling of Uraraka's hand in his hands. Her hand was surprisingly soft. It only took Midoriya roughly 30 seconds to realize what he had done.

He had just held Uraraka's hand.

He had **held **Uraraka's hand.

**He held Uraraka's hand.**

His hands quickly found themselves covering his face as his face turned red. What was he thinking? He had probably made her so uncomfortable! He should apologize when she hopefully succeeded the practical.

* * *

Mineta knew Midoriya had succeeded in his mission when he saw the trembling green haired boy walk back in, and give the grape boy a shaky thumbs up. And an amused Mineta glady returned with a smile. Mineta was honestly more happy that Midoriya managed to accomplish the task without fainting, or still having his hands over his obviously red face. Midoriya was also followed by Tsuyu, who decided to join Midoriya to watch Uraraka take her practical. Upon entering, the frog girl actually stopped upon seeing the grape haired boy. It appeared that Tsuyu was actually surprised that Mineta was standing there.  
After Midoriya walked back up to his spot, Mineta felt a tad bit irritated when he noticed the amphibian girl staring at him blankly. She didn't say anything, but just looked at him those blank eyes. Was he imaging things, or did her gaze look just a tinge bit judgmental? He narrowed his eyes, not liking the way Tsuyu was staring at him. He decided to address it. "Can I help y-"

"Weren't you and Sero going to plan for your fight? Ribbit." Tsuyu's voice cut him off. His plan? Oh yeah, he did say something after the spat with Mina and Kaminari earlier. So she was right, technically. But it wouldn't take _that _long. Mineta rolled his eyes. Did people really think he was that dumb? That he'd need to take roughly the time of half the classes exams to come up with a plan? Did he really give off those sort of vibes?

_Well, my old self probably would. Ugh._

Luckily Sero seemed to catch on to their conversation. "We did Tsuyu! We think we got it!" Mineta silently praised his unlikely savior. He didn't expect Sero to save his hide in this type of a situation.

Mineta gave a smug grin. "Besides we're going to pass anyways. Plan or not, this is going to be laughably easy." That was also true, he knew that he'd pass, and that he'd outsmart the Pro Hero.

"Ribbit. You seem awfully confident that you'll succeed. Are you sure you're not just getting cocky?"

That seemed to make Mineta's smile lower a little. What was Tsuyu's sudden beef with him? Mina and Kaminari were already enough, now Tsuyu?

_Probably cause you groped her at the USJ._

He cringed as he remembered he grabbed at her chest after sometime when All Might appeared, with Tsuyu countering with shoving his head underwater in retaliation.

_Right_. He should just apologize for that, and pray that she'd leave him alone. He had to get back to planning for the camping trip. He'd let himself get distracted with Midoriya's "Uraraka" situation. He needed to focus.

"**Uraraka and Aoyama, start!"**

_Oh. They already started? Huh._ Well then that means Midoriya, Sero, and Recovery Girl would be distracted by the fight. Now was the time to get a certain amphibian off his back, and hopefully get her to leave him alone. He turned towards Tsuyu, who immediately looked at him once more upon seeing his slight shift of movement. "Are you giving me shit because of the USJ?" Mineta whispered venomously. He noted that the frog girl eyes slightly widened at him cursing, and she halted from saying whatever she was about to follow up with.

Mineta winced at his tone, and quickly tried to repair the damage. "I'm sorry about groping you alright? Sorry about making comments about your chest, I won't ever bother you alright? So can you stop getting on my case?" _And my nerves. If this keeps up, the others will notice._

Tsuyu seemed taken aback by the grape boy's sudden outburst. No, she wasn't "giving him shit" at the moment because of the USJ, but she was surprised that he even bothered to apologize. It seemed so out of character for the pervert of Class A to suddenly even feel a hint of remorse for his actions. But she was unsettled by Mineta's recent behavior now, he never would of lashed out like this before.

"Well?" Mineta tapped his foot impatiently. Mineta didn't like the other idea that Tsuyu seemed bothered by his newfound confidence. What was her deal?

They both glared at each other for what seemed like long minutes. Finally Tsuyu broke her gaze first, and walked over to join Midoriya and Sero to root for Uraraka (And Aoyama of course.)

Mineta felt oddly satisfied that he managed to make the blank faced frog girl to back down first, but then put his hands to his forehead in stress. He probably shouldn't of lashed out, but it was already done, and the irritation Mineta had felt began to dissipate. Mineta knew he should probably get back to brainstorming the camp situation. The issue being if Iida wasn't there, or didn't help for some reason. So he'd have to figure out how successfully make sure the students got gas masks so they wouldn't have to suffer whatever sort of effects the purple smoke had. Even though Iida refusing to help was very unlikely, since his bespectacled classmate was probably one of the most heroic students in UA. But in the case that for some reason he didn't, it would be rather difficult, as he imagined himself lugging around roughly 70 pounds worth of gas masks around the forest before the assault. He still had a lot to sort out. He had time though, and he'd use every second to his advantage. He had a plan to formulate.

* * *

**And number 5 has been rewritten! Number 6 is up next! If you liked this, please Review/Follow/Fav, it helps me want to make faster updates!**


	6. Sour Attitude

**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 6**

**Sour Attitude**

* * *

Saying that Mineta bothered Tsuyu would probably be the biggest understatement of all time. The short grape headed boy had seriously been rubbing her the wrong way, more so than usual. Some of her classmates had also noticed it as well. It was not all of her class, but a rather considerable amount. They knew something was obviously wrong, but never spoke on the matter. Perhaps it would be awkward for some of them? Or the more timid ones straight up refusing to speak. But they all worried for the same reason.

Because for better or worse, Mineta had stopped being...Mineta.

Mineta, was unfortunately well known for one reason: being a perverted little runt. Being the infamous pervert of UA, the little creep was well known for loving to to peek at girls when their backs were turned, or he'd be drooling over any female hero showing even the tiniest amount of skin. In a way, the purple rat was laughably easy to predict when it came to basically any situation. He'd show complete disinterest in something until... the topic of females was brought to his attention.

When it came to being a 'hero', he didn't stand out of the crowd at all, especially in combat. Other the his unhealthy obsession for women, he was rather timid, especially in combat, preferring to run at the first sight of danger. Even if you didn't really know him that much, if you saw his behavior during the USJ attack, any person with at least ten braincells would be able to figure out what kind of person Mineta was.

The _entire _class didn't hate Mineta, some would have foolishly tried to get the small boy to change his disgusting ways, and by that it meant just a short scolding from Iida or one of the girls like Tsuyu herself slapping some sense into Mineta whenever he stupidly tried making a dumb pervy comment on situations, like Uraraka telling everyone that she'd do her best back before the Sports Festival. Tsuyu recalled giving him a good tongue slap before he could voice whatever the hell he was thinking in that small brain of his. She bet if you asked a telepath to read Mineta's mind, they'd probably be scarred for life. Lord knows what he was thinking half the time.

Tsuyu didn't hate the grape haired kid, no. She really couldn't be asked to be honest. She didn't like the word "hate". She just disliked Mineta to a certain degree. Hate was a word that was usually associated with villains, and Mineta couldn't be farther from a villain. Other then the fact villains were usually cowards like Mineta, they didn't sign up to UA just to drool over women. So hating others wasn't exactly something she could make time for if she wanted to succeed in UA. It took dedication and strive to pass in UA, and getting distracted would be a bad thing.

Even if she somhow wasn't enrolled in the #1 hero school, she couldn't hate Mineta either, he was just annoying.

Well that's how he _was_, before who he was completely did a 180.

* * *

"_Are you two finished?" _

_Tsuyu glanced at the other side of the room at the sound of Mineta's voice from the other side of the room. What was going on over there?  
She saw Mineta glaring at the two lowest scorers in the midterm, the two students were seemingly taken aback by Mineta's outburst. What was up with him? Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Tsuyu settled for watching silently in the background. _

_Tsuyu noticed that Midoriya too, had caught on to Mineta's angry reaction. Midoriya looked like he wanted to ask Mineta about it, but he gave up. Perhaps Mineta was just tired? But if this was Midoriya, Tsuyu knew he'd try to ask Mineta why he was acting like that anyways._

_She forgot the encounter until later that day, when Bakugo decided to confront Midoriya and attempted to make a statement in front of the entire class in an attempt to spite the green haired boy._

"_**I'll beat you with an indisputable difference!"**_

"_**I'll beat you with an indisputable difference!"**_

Hearing Mineta simultaneously with Bakugo's was weird enough as it is, but to hear him simultaneously parrot the same exact thing that Bakugo said. That just screamed wrong. It was almost like he knew exactly what Bakugo was going to say. There was no way he could of just guessed what Bakugo was going to say it.

Tsuyu's warning bells went off as Bakugo tried to scare some sense into young Mineta, only for Mineta to shrug off his insults, asked if Bakugo was going to kill him, then left the room after dodging a swing from Bakugo.

Not once did Mineta cower, or his already high pitched voice raise in fear when Bakugo showed some sparks.

He just walked away.

What was that? She'd never seen Mineta behave this way before.

It didn't help that earlier today before the first practical, Mineta had told Kaminari and Mina that they would fail after Kaminari had made a snide comment about how beating Nezu would be laughably easy or something. Tsuyu didn't know if it was good or bad that Mineta didn't even wait for everyone to go inside, he just called them out in front of everyone, then went inside with Sero nervously tagging along.

And just a few minutes ago, after Uraraka had left the specating room, when Tsuyu had approached Mineta after coming in with Midroiya, she was surprised at the look in his eyes. She knew that look all too well.

Annoyance had momentarily flashed in his eyes, but he quickly covered it up. He still held his cocky smile though.

It made her hesitate. Which Mineta did not seem to like. "Can I help y-"

She definitely did not like his tone. She inquired about him planning with Sero, making the grape boy's smug grin disappear, and his annoyance look fully on display. Luckily for Mineta, Sero decided to butt in and save Mineta's hide. Sero informed Tsuyu that they somehow already did plan. She decided to pry about his new cocky attitude on how he 'knew' he was going to pass.

Wrong thing to ask. He immediately cursed at her and then apologized? It seemed he thought she was prying because of what he did at USJ. She was tempted on making a snide comment on how she was surprised that 'a creature like Mineta could feel remorse'. But, that probably wouldn't of been a good idea. He was irritated enough already, and she'd just be poking the hornets nest. Especially that Midoriya was near, antagonizing Mineta wouldn't end well.

Tsuyu found herself at a loss for words. "Well?" Mineta was tapping his foot. Probably waiting for a response.

She settled for looking blankly at the boy. He didn't back down, glaring right back at her. The genuine anger in Mineta's eyes was as clear as day. She decided to back down. She'd get answers, but she'd have to be patient. Mineta seemed to get irritated much quicker now.

This fight was absolutely nerve wracking for Midoriya. If he was a few years younger, Midoriya would have been biting his nails, he was so nervous. After Tsuyu placed herself to his right, they watched as Uraraka and Aoyama surprisingly struggled against Thirteen.

The two students found themselves hanging on for dear life as Thirteen's Black Hole quirk had them gripping to a steel bar. Midoriya was sweating now. Was Uraraka going to fail? He remembered her humiliating defeat at the Sports Festival. Failing now would crush her. Midoriya clenched his fist. She had to succeed! She just had to! If she didn't, Midoriya would do everything in his damn power to cheer her up. Her being sad, it just wasn't right. The world would be unbalanced if she shed a single tear. Now he was starting to get choked up as well.

"Relax Midoriya," He heard Mineta whisper. "She's going to win." Midoriya noted how Mineta had a rather blank look as he watched along with everyone else. How could he be so sure that she'd succeed? Midoriya stopped, and thought that maybe he was not having enough faith in his best friend. Uraraka could handle herself!

Tides seemed to turn as Uraraka seemed to purposely let go of the bar, and used the momentum from Thirteen's Black Hole to bring herself right up to the Pro Hero. Thirteen didn't expect her sudden aggressive tactic, and stopped Black Hole, leaving him wide open. Uraraka wrestled Thirteen's left arm to the ground, holding it an a tight grip. Aoyama had to use his laser to boost himself over to Thirteen's right before the Space Hero could attempt to pry Uraraka off.

"And...catch!" Aoyama sang, tackling the right arm of the Pro Hero, effectively immobilizing him.

Uraraka cuffed Thirteen, and ended their exam.

"_**Team Aoyama and Uraraka have passed!"**_

Midoriya was _thrilled. _A huge smile was now plastered on his freckled face. "Nice judgment Uraraka! I can't believe she thought to use her opponent's power to get in close!" Uraraka was in control of the situation the whole time! It just seemed that she didn't!

Mineta restrained himself, resisting the urge to sarcastically blurt out: _"I can"_

"Ribbit..." Tsuyu croaked. She put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "To me, it looked like Uraraka just happened to let go though... I wonder what she and Aoyama were talking about?" Uraraka had a embarrassed expression on her face before she had released her grip on the rail.

The green haired boy shrugged. "Who knows? We can't hear what they're saying from here."

Hearing the automatic door open from behind, the group turned to see Iida and...Yaoyorozu?

Mineta blew a raspberry upon seeing Yaoyorozu enter the room. He was dreading encountering her, and he didn't know she'd enter here with the other students.

_This should be interesting. _

Mineta definitely wasn't about to go up and strike up a conversation now about if she could consider making him a ton of gas masks. It wouldn't end well right now, the slight tension in the room still was there, and he hated it.

What was he supposed to say anyways? _"Hey Yaoyorozu, could you do me a quick favor and make like roughly 70 gas masks, I have a good reason I swear!"_

"Uraraka passed huh? I don't expect any less." Iida said as he and Yaoyorozu entered the room.

Mineta on the other hand was having a miniature midlife crisis at the moment. He was shocked at the fact Iida had entered a room and hadn't immediately begun shouting at the top of his lungs and begun hand chopping.

Midoriya smiled as his friends walked over and joined them in front of the screen. "Congrats to you and Yaoyorozu too!" His smile grew to a shining glow, making the two students in front of him wince a little. At least his grin wasn't the full smile, or they'd be blind by now.

Tsuyu croaked happily "Ribbit!" The froggy girl was also ecstatic at the fact her friends had passed their exams.

"Way to go!" Sero said, grinning a toothy smile. He was slightly jealous though, of his classmates intelligence. Yaoyorozu and Iida were the smartest of the entire class. Sero knew if he didn't pass the practical...eugh.

Iida and Yaoyorozu smiled at the praise. "Thanks Midoriya."

Iida placed himself between Mineta and Midoriya, since there was an empty space there now since Uraraka's departure.

Yaoyorozu seemed like she wanted to stand by Iida, but stopped in her tracks upon seeing Mineta.

The boy noticed the movement in the corner his eye had stopped, and looked straight up at her in defiance. Was Yaoyorozu having a problem too? Well, since the whole Sports Festival thing, he couldn't exactly blame her for having any negative feelings towards him.

Yaoyorozu however had noticed with slight surprise that Mineta eyes hadn't wandered anywhere under her chin, and was surprised at him staring back at her dead in the eyes.

Mineta broke his blank stare, and looked at Iida, then back at Yaoyorozu. He repeated the process three more times before he rolled his eyes, walked away towards one of the walls, and plopped down and closed his eyes. He could put two and two together, Yaoyorozu didn't want to be near him at all.

Yaoyorozu however, thought that he probably did that to get a better look at her from behind. She made a sound of disgust before joining the conversation between her other classmates, leaving Mineta to his thoughts.

Tsuyu looked back up at the screen, and once more put a finger to her chin in thought. "I wonder which team will take the practical exam next?"

Yaoyorozu finally decided to speak. "The sixth match is Team Ashido and Kaminari. They will be up against Principal Nezu."

If Yaoyorozu had been looking, she would of seen Mineta perk up, and a small smile grow upon the mention of Mina and Kaminari.

* * *

**Not much to rewrite here, a few lines added and edits to already existing ones. Hope yall enjoyed it. **


	7. Bound to Fail?

**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 7**

**Why are you acting this way?**

* * *

At the mention of the furry principal, it made Midoriya frown. "Principal Ne-" He began.

His thought was cut off by chuckling from the back of the room. Everyone turned to see Mineta giggling to himself. His odd actions caused Midoriya to blink innocently. Had he missed a joke? Had something happened while he had been thinking to himself?

Sero however had a guess about what the boy sitting on the floor was laughing about. He remembered Mineta's words to Kaminari and Mina earlier.

"_But I'll pass. Unlike you two." _Mineta's words rang in Sero's mind, and he understood why he was laughing now.

Sero had a bad feeling about this. Especially how his classmates would react to Mineta.

"What are you laughing about?" Yaoyorozu said, rather irritated. Mineta's face had that one smug look that drove people like her insane, and his suddenly smug attitude wasn't helping his case.

Mineta attempted to stifle his giggles. "Sorry," He said, getting up on his feet and dusting himself off. "It's just that it's kinda sad how Mina and Kaminari are gonna fail against the principal, it's kind of amusing since he's just a little rodent."

Out of all the perverted, bratty things Mineta could of blurted out, Yaoyorozu hadn't been expecting _that._

Even Recovery Girl leaned back in her chair to look at Mineta in surprise, obviously taken off guard at his rather disgustingly snide comment.

Midoriya looked back nervously. What was Mineta trying to say? Was the grape haired boy getting worked up again at the mention of Mina and Kaminari?

Yaoyorozu seemed to voice his concerns. "What are you trying to say Mineta?"

Mineta looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "I'm saying that they'll fail. Nezu is too smart for them."

Even the Pro Hero Recovery Girl didn't take his casual insults lightly. "I'd suggest rephrasing that Mineta, those are your classmates. You should show them a little respect."

"Like Bakugo respected me when I dared question him?" Mineta huffed, recalling when Bakugo showed some sparks in a failed attempt to threaten him, and no one had really done anything. To be fair, he should of told an adult about Bakugo's attempted assault. But no one had really brought it up, so he technically couldn't blame them. But even Midoriya hadn't mentioned anything about it... well at least to Mineta's knowledge. He wasn't going to start pointing fingers. Not yet, at least.

His snide commentary got him a frown out of Recovery Girl, who turned back to the screen, muttering something about kids and their manners these days.

"Even so," Iida countered. "They are still your classmates, and your friends! I implore you to show respect! Showing disrespect towards your allies is not very heroic at all!" He had begun to chop his hand in the air violently, which was in character for Mineta's bespectacled classmate.

"Yeah!" Mineta said, voice full of sarcasm. "Like how they said people like me were only likable if I was dumb?" Mineta rolled his eyes just thinking about them. It was actually really funny how the school decided to put the two lowest ranking students in midterms from Class A against a Pro who's quirk was based around high intelligence.

He frowned as he thought about it. The higher ups at UA who decided the teams and who fought who obviously had a sick sense of humor. Whoever it was, Mineta wanted to shake their hand, since it was actually rather amusing in hindsight.

"Still," Tsuyu had decided to hop on the 'Scold Mineta' train as well. "It's not nice to be talking about them like that. Insult or not, they're your should stop." Tsuyu's stern tone implied that she didn't want to be argued with, but Mineta wasn't about to back down.

Mineta made a noise of obvious disgust, ready with a sarcastic retort. Then the only voice that couldn't be argued against decided to chime in.

It was Midoriya. The green haired boy knew things would only get worse if he allowed Mineta to get worked up even more, and he had to stop it now, before it got bad, so he spoke his mind. "Mineta," Midoriya said calmly. He had that sad/concerned expression on again, the one that drove Mineta up the damn wall. "How are you going to be a hero with an attitude like that?"

_Yay. _Mineta couldn't wait to hear what Midoriya had to say next, because he knew he was probably in for a earful from the green haired boy.

Midoriya's took the grape haired boy's silence as an OK to continue. "A hero should always be kind! And they shouldn't be a bad person, people will look up to us when we're heroes! We can't just lash out at others because of something they did. We can't just hold on to our negative feelings! You should treat others how you want to be treated!" Iida nodded at Midoriya's points, giving an affirmative "Hm!" in agreement.

He wanted to make a sarcastic comment at first, but backed down from the stares of the other students. Unless you were the tragedy that was Bakugo, insulting Midoriya usually wouldn't end well for you.

Mineta quietly stared, almost considering his friend's words. He wanted to say something, but held is tongue in fear of upsetting Midoriya. Midoriya had done nothing to him, why should he take it out on him?

Seeing that arguing with Midoriya would get him nowhere, Mineta huffed, accepting defeat and plopping back down on the floor. It seemed that Midoriya was victorious once more. "Hmph." Mineta hoped that was a good enough response for Midoriya, before the green haired boy started asking something among the lines of "What would All Might do" or something like that. Apparently that seemed to satisfy Midoriya, he made a little noise and turned back around to watch the screen.

Slowly, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Tsuyu, and Sero turned back around. Tsuyu took the longest, for she took one last look at Mineta, since her warning bells were screaming now.

_Bullying definitely wasn't something Mineta was well known for either._

She noted that after everyone else had turned around, his smug smile slowly started to come back.

When Kaminari's and Mina's exam began, Mineta turned to watch the screen as well. He looked forward to watching them fail.

And, holy hell, was it glorious. Watching the two low scoring students run around a training city as the principal commandeered a damn _wrecking ball _was actually pretty struggled not to burst out and laughter as the they idiotically ran around the city in full panic for the entirety of their exam. Mineta would probably felt bad for them, if it wasn't so damn _hilarious. _

His smile grew as they grew more panicked and desperately tried to find a way to the exit, only for them to end up in a pile of rubble. He felt amusement tingle in his stomach.

* * *

"_**Team Ashido and Kaminari retires due to running out of time."**_

Utter defeat. That's all the pink skinned girl from Class A was feeling right now. Just crippling, utter, defeat. Mina clenched her fists and grit her teeth in frustration. How had this happened? This was a little furry animal that beat them, and embarrassed them in front of the entire UA. The shame she felt built up in her stomach, or was that acid? She felt like she wanted to throw up. But her empty stomach had nothing to offer, so she just collapsed, not saying a word.

Kaminari was trying to keep his cool, he clenched his fists and unclenched them periodically, trying to keep in his anger and shame. He should of passed this! This was supposed to be a piece of cake! But they failed! The realization of his failure made a recent memory pop up, that involved a certain grape head.

"_You'll fail,"_ Mineta said to their faces.

And he was right. The little pipsqueak had said it so confidently as well. In front of his classmates, no less. How the hell did he know that? Was it a lucky guess?Since Mineta's recent actions these past days, Kaminari had stopped hanging out with him. Almost like they disliked each other now, because Mineta had been changing. And he had been changing for the worst.

But now, he had failed, and made himself look like a complete and utter idiot. All the teachers saw him fail. What would they think of him now? What would his friends say? What would his friends think? He couldn't get these negative thoughts out of his head, as they slowly built up inside him.

He punched a piece of wall sticking out of the debris pile. "FUCK!" He shouted and continued to pummel the slab of cement, even when he was pretty sure that his knuckles had started bleeding. Anger and shame clouded his mind, he couldn't think straight.

Mina however, couldn't even cry, or throw a tantrum. She just felt so exhausted and frustrated. She settled for quietly sitting on the ground and putting her face in her hands just in case if she cried, the cameras couldn't see it. If they did, they'd broadcast it to whoever the hell actually bothered to watch her do the exam. Hopefully no one. She held her face in her shaky hands, not saying a word. Just silence.

* * *

"Kaminari, Ashido," Midoriya said solemnly.

"They really couldn't do a thing," Iida said. "They must be very frustrated."

The door behind them opened and the group turned to see that Uraraka had returned. The brown haired girl jogged in with a unhappy expression on her face. "What? Mina's team lost?" her voice betrayed her sadness on her friends failing.

Yaoyorozu nodded sadly. "Yes. The principal's strategy was too perfect."

"Really? That's too bad!" Uraraka said. It bummed her out to see them not pass.

"Uraraka! Congratulations for passing your exam!" Iida said, pushing up his glasses.

She nodded happily at her bespectacled classmate. "Thanks! You too Iida!"

Yaoyorozu noted that Mineta's smile was so big that it gave All Might a run for his money. But All Might never had the smug cockiness that Mineta currently held in his smile.

"Oh my word, I can't believe they failed." Mineta said sarcastically. "This is completely unheard of, how is this happening?" Mineta blurted out. He was having that smug look, to Yaoyorozu's annoyance. She despised that look.

The other students turned to where the grape haired boy that was sitting on the floor. He currently had his hand over his mouth to conceal the huge grin of amusement. But Sero, Yaoyorozu, and Tsuyu seemed to catch on to his antics already.

"I told you they'd fail." Mineta said with a blank expression. He forced himself to hold in the smug smile that threatened to break out. "They should of planned." He remembered looking them dead in the eye and telling them. Why didn't they listen? Probably pride.

Uraraka was seeing this for the first time however, and shot a worried look at the green haired boy standing next to her. Midoriya just seemed to have a hopeless look in his eyes. It seemed he didn't completely understand why this was happening either. Seeing as how Mineta seemed to be mostly glaring at Tsuyu and Yaoyorozu, he took the second to lean in close to Uraraka.

"Mineta's been insulting Kaminari and Mina, even before they failed the exam. I think it's because they said something to him earlier in class, and I think Mineta took it to heart." Midoriya whispered.  
Uraraka's eyebrows went downwards as she frowned. "Mineta usually isn't like this, he's been changing, hasn't he?" Uraraka knew Mineta pretty well from his perverted reputation, and she knew something was wrong.

Midoriya nodded. "Ever since last week..." Midoriya didn't like the grape haired boy's hostile attitude towards everything now. It wasn't a very heroic attitude to be having.

As Midoriya and Uraraka whispered to each other, the conversation continued with the other students.

Yaoyorozu gave Mineta a dirty look in disgust. "You should watch what you say about them." She didn't like him badmouthing her friends. During their study sessions before the written exams, Yaoyorozu had become good friends with Mina and Kaminari. To see them fail hurt her heart, but for Mineta to start making fun and insulting them...it made her mad.

Mineta just shrugged, obviously not caring too much about what Yaoyorozu had to say. "As soon as they stop saying stuff about me."

The frog girl had a deadpan expression."You should still show them respect, ribbit." Tsuyu said. Her voice betrayed a tad bit of irritation, which Mineta picked up on. He just rolled his eyes at her comment._ Fat chance of that, friendo._

Irritably pushing up his glasses, Iida turned towards Mineta. "Even if they did not pass, it's incredibly disrespectful to rub salt into their wounds!" Iida declared, once more hand chopping the air.

Sero, a bit fed up with Mineta's attitude as well, decided to add his two cents. "Even if they disrespected you earlier, you should be like, the bigger man right?" If Mineta was trying to act like an adult, he could at least try to see reason right? Or was he just being snobby a gain?

In reality Mineta knew what Sero was trying to get at, and it was a noble thought to have, but Mineta couldn't really care less. Those two thought they could just insult him without thinking he'd retaliate, well they were incorrect about that. He turned to Sero "I don't think I can be the bigger man Sero. Height isn't exactly something I have." Mineta said sarcastically.

_That_ seemed to slightly irritate the tape boy. He shook his head. "No, I mean like, be the mature one in the situation!" His voice had a tinge of the smallest amount of anger. Mineta would give it to Sero, he held his anger in well. He smugly looked back at the others. "Ok, I'll tell you what." Mineta said to the group of students. "If I lose my exam, I'll apologize to Kaminari and Mina for what I said. Sound good?" That was a fair deal, right? Well, at least he thought it was fair.

"No!" Midoriya said as he joined the conversation, shaking his head. He seemed to be done whispering with Uraraka. "You should still be nice to them either way! Stop being difficult!"

The grape haired boy simply rolled his eyes."Don't worry," Mineta said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "I will." But his voice told Midoriya that he probably wasn't going to stop being difficult any time soon.

Uraraka gave Mineta a glance, then patted Midoriya's back sympathetically. The two students turned back around to look at the screen. Seemed that conversation was over then. That, or they just gave up.

Tsuyu, Iida, Sero, and Yaoyorozu gave him one last look before joining Midoriya.

He ignored any other sounds, as he closed his eyes for a power nap. He already knew the results of the other exams as well, so he could ignore them, and he was pretty sure no one really wanted to talk to him right now.

But for his exam, he was indecisive. Should he just play ignorant, let Sero throw him, and take the easy win after trapping Midnight? He was always proud of outsmarting the Pro Hero ever since he did it the first time. What he really wanted was to get the cuffs on her, to prove Mina wrong. He wouldn't just run away. After the horn signaling the succession of Jirou and Koda, Mineta had made up his mind.

* * *

**Another rewrite done. As I'm posting this, I'm on hiatus from other stories, so the main focus is rewriting! Review/Fav/Follow if you enjoy this story.**


	8. Mineta's Guide on how to pass Exam

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 8****

****Mineta's Guide on how to properly pass your exam****

****(warning, things get a little raunchy with describing something, but nothing M rated :P)****

* * *

"Team Hagakure and Shoji have passed!" The announcer's voiced stated loudly to the entire Class A of UA. Their friends cheered for their invisible friend and her multi armed partner as they managed to cuff the gun wielding Pro Hero Snipe. It was rather simple for her in reality, her invisibility quirk made sneaking up behind the gun slinging Hero pretty easy. She slapped the cuffs on, and that was that. She would still be feeling the high from the victory if a certain Pro Hero's elbow didn't brush up against her chest, which was obviously bare, although invisible.

Snipe quickly tried to apologize before the invisible girl in front of him exploded, to no avail.

Sero however, was deep in thought about the other exams. How many would pass? He was hoping he himself would pass, even with _Mineta_ as his partner. He was shook out of his thoughts however when Tsuyu tapped his shoulder. "Aren't you and Mineta next, ribbit?" Tsuyu said curiously, head slightly tilted to the side. Sero noticed how her eyes quickly glanced out of the corner of her eye over where Mineta presumably was, for a split second.

He sweatdropped at the question. He'd been so distracted, that he forgot that it was his turn. Sloppy. "Eh! R-right!" He quickly said. Sero cursed under his breath. He needed to pay attention more, it was getting a bit embarrassing when he was just sitting there lost in thought. Speaking of people sitting, Sero turned towards the wall where Mineta had been napping, only to see that the boy had vanished.

_Eh? Where was Mineta? _

His question was quickly answered shorty after though. "Sero, you coming?" said a voice by the exit. Sero looked to see Mineta was leaning on the wall by the door with his arms crossed, a hint of impatience in his voice. He motioned towards the exit. "We've got an exam to pass, let's go!"

His words managed to shake the tape boy out of his stupor. Seemed that Mineta was in a bit of a hurry today."Uh, yeah! Let's go!" Sero said, joining Mineta as they headed towards the arena where they would battle against Midnight.

The two boys headed towards the entrance to the mountain based arena where they would take their exam. It was a rather rocky terrain, which made it good places for hiding. And the hero they were going against, Sero knew Midnight would most likely use it to her advantage. Underestimating a Pro Hero was a foolish thing to do.

It was rather awkward for Sero. Neither of the boys said anything to each other, not even trying to come up with a plan or anything, to Sero's discomfort. However, Sero wanted to speak his mind.

"Hey Mineta..." Sero began, hesitation clear in his voice. He didn't know what he was doing, but he didn't want this to keep going, and Mineta hopefully would cooperate. It all depended on his mood at the moment.

The grape haired boy glanced up at Sero. "Yeah, what's up?" Mineta's tone didn't seem to have any hostility in it, so Sero continued. "Look, I know you're mad at Mina and Kaminari, and this probably the last thing you want to hear, but could you lay off a little with the insults?"

As expected, Mineta' face scrunched up in either disgust, or irritation at Sero's question. "Why? They started this whole thing. They kinda called me dumb, or were you not paying attention to when they did that?" It appeared that he was going to be difficult about it then.

Running his fingers through his hair Sero took a deep breath, "Yes, I'm aware of them calling you dumb. It's just that I think you're taking too much offense. It's in the past now, they'll just get more hostile the more you bring it up. Being mean back won't really solve the issue." Sero sighed. "It's in your best interest to just lay off, trust me."

The grape haired boy's expression was indifferent. Sero rolled his eyes in irritation. "Not convinced?"

Mineta's face screamed _"not convinced"_, so Sero tried something else. "Look at it this way, having a bad attitude won't go well with the other teachers, especially Eraserhead." Mineta's glanced up at him, then looked down the gravel as they continued to walk to the arena.

Although Mineta wouldn't admit it, Sero was correct in regards to the teacher. Whether he liked it or not, Aizawa was probably the scariest teacher at UA, and the tired teacher definitely did not like back talk from other students. Trying to sass him was a death sentence. Even Bakugo was forced to not yell or mutter profanities. He chose his words carefully. "Fine. I will...keep that in mind." Mineta said plainly.

Sighing, Sero knew that was all he was probably was going to get, so he kept quiet. He'd have to be satisfied with the answer for now, and try again after the exams. Maybe the grape boy would be more cooperative.

Mineta and Sero wandered the rocky terrain, eyes peeled for Midnight, who was their opponent for this round. They slowly walked around the small hills, checking seemingly every nook and cranny for any sign of the female Hero.

Sero nervously glanced from left to right, looking for any type of even the _slightest _movement. Midnight had been in the hero business for a long time, and stealth missions were probably something she specialized in. She just had to have the unlucky villain breathe in, and it was over. He knew he had to be careful.

Several minutes of them walking around, and checking behind every suspicious rock while they held their breath in, just in case. She could pop up any second, and if they had their guard down when she happened to appear...

_Game over. _The unpleasant thought of him failing in front of everyone that was watching was a very unpleasant thought to have indeed. Especially after seeing Mina and Kaminari fail. That was kind of soul crushing to watch, and he didn't want to entertain the idea of him failing.

After seemingly long minutes of them glancing at rocks and walking slowly and cautiously towards the exit, which was a pretty long way to go. And after the minutes dragged on, they found...

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. All this time and it seemed Midnight wouldn't even appear. Which Sero would be totally okay with if you had asked him. Sero was about to suggest just going for the exit, until he noticed something from behind a rock that was to his left. He squinted, and his n

Midnight stood tall, her long hair flowing behind her head as she walked towards them. Her hips seductively swaying from left to right as she approached the two students. Sero recognizing the pink mist coming from her skin, turned to Mineta.

Mineta however, had his back turned, and seemed to be staring at nothing? It seemed like he was purposely looking the other way. What was he doing? "Mineta!" he cried, "Don't get close!" He used his tape to wrap it around Mineta and throw him far enough that he wouldn't be affected by Midnight's Somnabulist.

As his tape wrapped around the small boy, Sero noticed that even though Mineta's back was turned, he somehow knew to lift his arms, and he tensed up, almost as if he _knew _that Sero was about to throw him. His suspicions were confirmed as he looked up after Mineta, who was...waving? He also had a large grin on his face, almost smug.

"Nothing personal Sero! Thanks for being the bait! I hope you can forgive me!" Mineta called as he flew through the air. "I promise you I'll pass!"

__Mineta you son of a bitch! __was the last thought that crossed Sero's mind before he felt two feminine hands open the visor on his helmet. As he didn't expect her to suddenly be there, he unfortunately inhaled the pink gas. He noted that it was a surprisingly sweet scent, rather pleasant on the senses. As her quirk quickly went to work on Sero. His legs gave out, and everything went black.

* * *

__Sorry Sero, I don't think I can beat her in physical combat. I wanted to prove Mina and Kaminari wrong, but I'll just settle for passing, and them failing.__

If you asked him, Mineta would tell you he felt slightly bad for using Sero as bait. But in reality, he couldn't take Midnight head on as he once previously thought. Even though he bragged about he'd pass, he had to scrap the plan of fighting Midnight. Her quirk was just too much, and Mineta knew his little lungs couldn't handle that long without air.

As he flew through the air, a new idea popped in his head. Although he couldn't fight Midnight, he could still be able to slap on those cuffs, if he used a...different tactic.

_No, that couldn't work. Could it? If I was able to... _Ideas raced through his mind. As he thought harder, a small plan formulated inside his mind. If he could pull that off successfully...

After he landed, he took his old pathway while he ripped Sero's tape off, keep a small piece to cover his face so he wouldn't pass out. Just like last time. Although this time, things would change. He wouldn't run away to the goal. He'd put those cuffs on Midnight, and prove that he could plan.

When he glanced behind him, and he rewatched as Sero collapsed. It was when he was near his old rock he realized the horror of the situation. Something much more horrifying then going up against Pro Heroes.

Sero had _touched _Midnight's chest. _Midnight's_ chest, and got to use her lap as a pillow. Did he know how many other male students, no, male _heroes _would kill to be his position? He was the luckiest man in the world at this current moment.

Sure, some other female Pro Heroes had good looks, and good bodies. Example being Mt Lady, she was quite the looker, Mineta would give her that. But Midnight was older than the giantess Heroine. And in some situations, younger, was not always better. The difference in age between the two heroines clearly showed. Midnight's breasts and thighs were noticeably larger than Mt Lady's. She seemed to be aging rather well.

And in his defense, he wasn't the only one who thought that. Hell, even in America, one of the things that younger men sought after most was older women. What did they call them again? Mirfs? Mifs? Either way, his point still stood. If they took care of themselves, women would age like wine.

Very, _very, _fine wine. Especially women like Midnight.

But that brought back what was probably the most horrifying part. For Sero was unconscious for the whole experience. He wouldn't remember any of it. Sero was unfortunately out like a light by the time his head made contact with Midnight's chest.

Mineta felt pretty bad for him, how could fate be so cruel to poor Sero? If Mineta had a hat, he'd take it off in respect for the poor tape boy. Mineta settled for giving a salute in respect before turning and running to hide behind his rock.

If this would work, he'd never let Sero or Midnight hear the end of it. He smiled deviously.

* * *

Midnight, who still currently had Sero's head in her lap, was pondering thoughtfully. She had hesitated to chase after the grape boy after hearing him taunting Sero. Had he tricked Sero into being the bait for him to succeed? That was rather unexpected, especially from someone like Mineta. His disrespectful behavior had given her pause before she was going to chase him.

__That's a low move, __Midnight thought. Not very heroic of him. It was a move completely out of character for the grape haired boy to pull. It went against everything she knew about Mineta. She read the reports the police had given UA after long hours of questioning each student individually about what their points of view were on the USJ attack.

A certain frog girl had been completely fine with informing them how Mineta cried on the boat shortly after they realized they were surrounded by villains. Being brave or clever definitely wasn't one of Mineta's strengths.

But back to the topic of Mineta, did he perhaps expect for her to sit there while he snuck around to the exit? So much for clever being "not one of his strong suits."

__Fat chance.__She thought as she stood up after gently setting Sero's head on the ground. Sero was still peacefully snoozing thanks to her quirk. Midnight huffed as she started walking in the direction the boy ran. It appeared that she had to hunt him down.

After walking for a minute or two, she came into a large open area. Big rocks were everywhere, a perfect place to hide. She'd have to look carefully, if she didn't Mineta would sneak right by her. Midnight would have kept walking in the same direction, if she didn't spot a certain strange shape in the corner of her eyesight.

The shape happened to be four round shapes sticking out from a rather decently sized boulder. But those weren't part of the boulder. They were too perfectly round. Almost like...

Grapes.

_Her mouth curved upwards. ___Found you.__

As Midnight felt her sadistic side slightly come out, as she pulled out her whip as she tauntingly called out to him. "Why are you hiding Grape Juice?" Midnight said as she whipped the rock near her target. She slowly sauntered towards the rocks, a normally saucy grin turning into a sadistic smile. She could afford to be cocky.

However, there was no response. No sound came from the rock. Was the boy petrified with fear so much that he couldn't even speak? Well, that made her job easier, and she was alright with an easy win. It would be Sero and Mineta's loss, both figuratively, and literally.

She lifted a section of her costume open, unleashing Somnabulist everywhere, over the rock and where Mineta currently stood. She knew it was over. Mineta was about to be out cold. Maybe he'd succeed next time, maybe not.

__Game Over Grape Juice.__

But instead of toppling over, the grape protrusions still were in the same place. No movement of any kind, the round protrusions not moving at all.

The female Pro Hero frowned. Perhaps Mineta holding his breath? Looks like the whip would have to do the job._ A good lash to the stomach would knock the air out of him, and that would definitely force him to breathe in subconsciously._

She slowly approached the rock, ready to lash any unfortunate students that she saw. She peeked around the side of the rock to see?

Nothing.

_Wait, ___nothing?__

She did a double take, and saw what Mineta had done. Four of Mineta's sticky grapes were stuck to the top of the rock. They were put there in such a perfect way, that if you were approaching from the opposite side, it would look like his the grapes that were always growing back on the top of his head.

She noticing strange engravings to her left and she looked down on the ground to see words drawn in the gravel, large and plain for her to see.

_**GOOD JOB!**_

And by the message was a hastily scribbled smiley face giving a thumbs up, with his footprints leading away from the writing he left her. Mineta had intended for her to follow his trail. He had planned this!

__That son of a...__

****Click****

Midnight felt a new pressure on her wrist, and she looked down to see a new yellow object tightly wrapped around her hand.

__Cuffs?__

"_**Team Mineta and Sero have passed!"**_

She turned around to see that her Mineta, who had wrapped Sero's tape around his face, had promptly slapped the cuffs on her wrist. He stared at her with his hands on his hips, and had raised eyebrows, his expression screaming: __"Really?"__

"You..." She looked back at the grapes he placed on the rock, then back at him. "You sly devil."

* * *

Mineta just shrugged and ripped the tape off to breathe. "I suppose I am pretty smart, aren't I?" Mineta said as he inhaled deeply, savoring the oxygen. He looked back towards the exit. "I'm gonna go wake Sero." And he turned and walked away, leaving Midnight to shoot him a dirty look as he walked away, a smug look once more plastered on his face.

__Eat it Kaminari. Eat it Mina. You failed horribly, and I succeeded. Good job, morons.__

* * *

****5 Minutes ago****

****Specator Room POV:****

"Is he waving?" Midoriya wondered out loud. He and his classmates looked on in curiosity at Mineta's smug expression, shouting something at Sero that they couldn't hear from there. They were surprised to see Midnight ambush the two students, only for Sero to use his tape to throw Mineta through the air. Then Mineta began yelling at Sero while he waved his hands, but since they couldn't see Sero's expression thanks to the visor on his helmet, so they couldn't tell what his reaction was.

Iida put a hand to his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the screen. "But why does he have that smug look? He's gone even _farther _from the exit!"

Uraraka scratched an itch on her cheek as she frowned. "Maybe he's planning to draw Midnight away from the exit?" It seemed like a decent plan, at least to her. If Mineta knew what he was doing, maybe it would work.

Yaoyorozu however, couldn't say what she thought Mineta was trying to do. But she noticed something the others didn't catch on to yet. She put the pieces together. Mineta purposely looking the other way, Sero throwing up. Mineta with that smug look as he mockingly waved at Sero...

She frowned at the screen showing the grape haired boy."I believe Mineta intended to use Sero as bait." Yaoyorozu said, gaining her shocked looks from her classmates. Midoriya had a look of confusion on his freckled face. Iida's eyebrow was raised up, not in a doubting matter though, more of genuine curiosity. Tsuyu's face was blank as ever, which wasn't really surprising to anyone.

"Are you saying that Mineta tricked Sero to take the hit?" Tsuyu said thoughtfully with her head tilted. "Ribbit."

Yaoyorozu nodded as she kept her eyes glued to the screen. "One of the camera showed Mineta's face before Midnight showed herself to attack, and Mineta seemed to be almost looking out of the corner of his eyes where Midnight was. It was almost like..."

"He knew she'd come from there," Tsuyu finished. _It wouldn't be the first time Mineta had seemingly known something that he shouldn't have. She refrained from saying her suspicions out loud though, but she was going to keep an eye on Mineta for sure._

Midoriya's face was wrinkled in confusion. What he wanted to know was how would have Mineta known that Midnight would be there? He was pretty sure the grape head didn't have super hearing as a second quirk.

They watched as Mineta landed on the ground and started running away from Midnight, and hid behind a rock, while Midnight currently had Sero's head in her lap. She appeared to be deep in thought as her hand was on Sero's head.

"What's Mineta going to do now?" Midoriya wondered out loud. What could he do in reality? Midoriya knew well that Mineta wasn't exactly packing muscle or close combat expertise, so Mineta rushing Midnight seemed unlikely. What was he planning?

His question seemed to be about to be answered as they watched Mineta take off four grapes, and placed them on top of the rock, where they were lined up strikingly similar to the way the grapes on Mineta's head were. If you had been on the opposite side you'd think it was Mineta's own head.

"Is he going to bait her?" Iida said as looked back at Tsuyu expectantly. The frog girl seemed to have a good idea what Mineta was going to do so far, maybe she'd know now?

"It appears he's going to attempt to trick her into coming over there," Tsuyu said as she put her finger on her chin.

After placing his grapes, Mineta crouched down to the ground, and suddenly started to...

"Is he drawing in the gravel?" Midoriya said in disbelief. He knew that Mineta could be childish sometimes, given his age, but drawing in the sand? Really? The grape boy was taking an exam, and his opponent was a freaking _Pro Hero__. _Why would he take the time to doodle now?

Indeed, the grape boy had began writing words in the grave, and drew a smile and thumbs up after. He took a second to admire his work, and walked off.

"It says..." Iida squinted to read the hastily written message that Mineta drew into the gravel.

"Good job?" Midoriya echoed. "What does he mean by that? Is he congratulating himself?" The broccoli boy said, his mouth in an "O" shape. Mineta was known to be cocky, but him having to congratulate himself...self esteem issues?

Iida narrowed his eyes. "I believe the message is for Midnight herself. It only makes sense. He's leaving his grapes there to bait her, so it also must be for her."

"Good job." Yaoyorozu repeated. She almost seemed to be glaring at the screen displaying Mineta. "That is very disrespectful."

Tsuyu's eye brow raised, just a little. "He's seems to be rather confident that he can win."

Even with the blatant show of disrespect to the Pro Hero, Midoriya still hoped that somehow Mineta would pass his exam. Sure his attitude was not the best thing right now, but UA was a dream come true. Midoriya himself forgot how many kids applied for UA, and failed. Some kids would be enraged that a kid like Mineta got into the top class, and they didn't.

Luck seemed to favor the boy in question, and he managed sneak around to another rock as Midnight approached. He wrapped Sero's tape around his face to counter Midnight's Somnabulist.

Midnight approached the decoy with her whip raised, and Mineta crept behind her, and slapped the cuffs on her, much to the Pro Hero's shock.

"It worked!" Midoriya cheered. He was surprised himself that Mineta had passed. He glanced down, feeling a bit down. He doubted Mineta because of how he was acting earlier the previous week, but Mineta managed to outsmart Midnight.

"I didn't expect that to work in his favor!" Iida said, though he also had a grin on his face now.

"Huh." was all Yaoyorozu had to say. She was still in shock at Mineta's clever plan actually working. Ever since Mineta changed, she doubted that Mineta could even hold his own. Even if she was a bit glad to see a fellow classmate pass, she wouldn't of minded if he failed. He needed a dose of reality. But it seemed he passed, and she'd give credit for his clever planning.

"Not bad, ribbit." Tsuyu said in a monotone voice.

Recovery Girl also had a smile on her face. Even if the boy had some issues, she was still glad to see another student pass the practical. Seeing her students succeed, it made her feel good about their future as heroes.

* * *

****Ok, I'm gonna be honest. I'm very proud of this rewrite right here. 3-4 days of painful deleting and changing, I managed to change a 3 page chapter that looked like a play script into more than 6 whole pages! I feel really good about this chapter. And I hope you guys enjoyed it as well! As always, if you enjoyed this chapter, please Review/Follow/Fav! See you next time!****


	9. Wrath of a Class Rep

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 9****

****Wrath of a Class Rep****

* * *

Mineta felt bad.

Scratch that, he felt _terrible._

After he managed to wake up the snoring Sero, the tape boy had originally given him a dirty glare for using him as bait. Mineta had brushed it off as the black haired boy just being salty for him being used as bait. But when he thought about it harder, he realized why Sero was so angry.

He'd been so focused on his exam, he had forgotten that there were _security cameras_ watching them. Sero getting used as bait was broadcasted to whoever was watching on the screens. Mineta knew what it was like to be humiliating and embarrassed in front of others.

Mineta knew he made Sero look like a fool. In front of his classmates, and Midnight. And the other teachers that probably watched the tapes after the exams. They'd see how Sero had gotten knocked out laughably quickly.

The only thing Sero had going for him right now exam wise was that he passed, and that he maybe could of got some credit for saving Mineta from Midnight's gas. Rescuing people was something that the teachers at UA loved. Probably since saving people was probably literally something that's expect of every hero.

Once he had realized what he had done to Sero's reputation, Mineta desperately explained that he needed to trick Midnight into coming near him, so he kinda had to act like an asshole. Sero took this silently, not making any comment while the grape boy explained how he deceived the teacher and also how he had managed to get the cuffs on the 18+ Hero.

But now, as they walked back to the spectating room, Mineta wished that Sero hadn't forgiven him. Originally, Sero had eventually nodded and told him that he'd forgive him for using him as bait, and for not telling him the plan.

To be fair, Mineta hadn't actually planned to trick Midnight, he originally planned to just trap her with grapes and haul ass to the finish line. That obviously had not happened though, once he realized how he could take her on if he sneaked up on her.

Initially, Mineta had been _thrilled _that Sero had forgiven him for his mess up, and he thought that the problem had ended there, and that he would have nothing to worry about.

Mineta, shockingly, was _very _incorrect.

* * *

Mineta found himself nervously trailing back into the spectating room by a grumpy Sero. You couldn't tell by his face, but he was still grumpy. The way he walked a bit quickly, and a bit stiffly told Mineta that he was still in a sour mood. Sure the tape boy had forgiven him, but he had a feeling that it wasn't over.

"Heyyyy guys!" Sero called, with a very nervous Mineta walking beside him as well. The reason for his nervousness being roughly 10 feet in front of him. He was definitely in for it now. Sero's fake smile, the way he almost borderline dragged Mineta into the room where the other students were.

"Greetings Sero! Mineta! Congratulations on passing your exams!" Iida exclaimed with a rather big smile on his face.

Tsuyu nodded, her expression indifferent. "Good job, ribbit." Her voice betrayed no disgust or disdain, to Mineta's surprise.

The brown haired girl beside Midoriya nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!" Uraraka had decided to join in on their conversation as well, it seemed. "I'm glad you both passed!"

Even Yaoyorozu's expression eventually softened, and she gave her congratulations as well. Her expression betrayed no disgust, or she just hid it pretty well.

Mineta hadn't been expecting her to actually have decent attitude, so he couldn't formulate a response to her. He just settled for awkwardly smiling. He thought he was in the clear until Sero decided to pipe up.

The black haired boy had a deceptive grin plastered on his face. "Yeah, good thing that Mineta got the cuffs on, or we would of failed!"

His words froze Mineta to the spot. Looks like it wasn't over yet. If Sero was trying to get a certain bespectacled classmate's attention, that would be it. The end of Grape Juice.

Iida picked up on Sero's words. "That reminds me! Mineta! What happened during your exam? You seemed to be rather in high spirits throughout most of the test." he said curiously.

Sero took his chance, and turned to Iida with the smile still on his face. "Oh yeah, about that whole thing..." Sero leaned in to whisper something to Iida, which gave Mineta a very bad feeling about what it was.

Iida's expression didn't change at all, which was a pretty good sign, at least in Mineta's opinion. So then maybe it wouldn't be so bad? Perhaps he'd have another lucky break?

That thought was quickly squashed when Sero continued whispering and Iida's eyes went wide and responded with "Did he now?" Mineta noted with terror that the lenses on Iida's glasses had started to almost glow white. Iida pushed his glasses up a little.

"So yeah. That's what basically happened," Sero finished.

"I see." Iida said, his tone was deadly calm. Mineta knew he was in trouble. _That_ tone of voice was always bad news.

His suspicions were confirmed when the bespectacled class rep slowly turned towards Mineta, his expression seemingly completely blank.

Mineta gulped in fear. He felt petrified.

"Mineta." Iida said eerily as he adjusted his glasses. His voice was_ too _calm. And when he was calm like this, someone was in for a scolding.

If Mineta could describe the feeling he felt right now, it would have been like in the cartoons where he shrank, just because of how small he felt right now. "Y-Yes?"

Iida's right hand slowly raised from his side. Scratch the whole shrinking thing, he felt like melting into a puddle and going down the drain. This was it. This is where Mineta's story would end. Right here, right now.

His hand raised higher. Mineta's heart was pounding. He was sweating. He felt faint. Iida's hand was above his head now. It stopped its ascent, ready to strike at any moment.

Time seemed to almost freeze for Mineta. All he could now was wait for the end and hope it would be swift, and painless. Though with his luck, it probably wouldn't be.

Iida's hand began to quickly descend.

Mineta closed his eyes as Iida delivered his judgment.

****Chop****

Mineta gripped his forehead as Iida's hand hit his head. "Ow." Mineta blurted out on instinct upon being struck.

"I cannot begin to express my disappointment, Mineta!" Iida cried as he struck Mineta again.

****Chop****

"Thirteen said that we should view the teachers as villains! We are the heroes in the practicals! Acting as a villain could cost you points, as well as the respect of your classmates!"

****Chop****

"As class rep, I implore you apologize to each of your classmates!" Iida said sternly as he hit Mineta's head again.

****Chop****

"That includes Kaminari and Mina! You should apologize to both of them as soon as possible!"

****Chop****

"Owww, Iida that hurts!" Mineta whined, holding onto the sensitive area on his head. He rubbed it experimentally after Iida finally decided to stop his ruthless assault on his forehead

"Mineta! I hope you will do well to comply!" Iida said, now satisfied with just chopping the air.

"Yes! Alright, alright! I'll do it! I yield!" Mineta yelped, cowering beneath Iida's tall frame. And his borderline glowing glasses made him 10x more intimidating then normal.

Watching the whole thing play out, Recovery Girl rolled her eyes. Sometimes her students were the biggest drama queens, and Mineta was no exception. He was acting like he had a concussion when in reality Iida had just given Mineta a good bop on the head.

Iida pushed his glasses up once more. He seemed satisfied with Mineta's answer since he turned back around to watch the screens once more.

The class rep turned back with the others to watch the epic finale of the exams, which was Midoriya and Bakugo facing off with All Might.

* * *

Knowing what the outcome for that exam, Mineta had settled on sitting down against the wall once more. Sero approached Mineta, a rather indifferent expression plastered on his face.

"I hope you learned something Mineta?" Sero said, though his tone held no hostility.

Mineta stared at the floor, clenching his fists. "I don't know why, but I really am still irritated at Mina and Kaminari." He couldn't explain why, but whenever he looked at them, he just got worked up. It angered him how he couldn't even understand his own feelings.

Sero looked at the frustrated expression on Mineta, and sighed. He crouched down so he was the same height as Mineta. "Look Mineta, something's obviously bothering you." His suspicions were confirmed when Mineta looked up at him in surprise. _Yeah, I caught that._

"Uh...what, what do you mean?" Mineta's voice went a bit higher in tone, obviously now nervous since he was cornered.

"Mineta, no one just changes under a single day," Sero said in a soft tone, as to not grab the unwanted attention of his classmates. "You don't just change like that. Did something happen to you?"

Mineta stopped from saying whatever he was going to say, because Sero's words stunned the small boy. Was it really that obvious to everyone? Were they just ignoring him to humor him? No, he needed to stop thinking so negatively. There were positives to this situation, right? There were no villains here. All of his classmates were alive. The Pussycats were alive.

__He was alive.__

"Hey, Mineta! Snap out of it little man!" Sero began to gently shake Mineta, as he had noticed that Mineta 's eyes went awfully blank. Eerily empty, although not completely hollow.

"Oh, s-sorry..." Mineta said as he shook his head. His voice had begun to crack with emotion. He inwardly cursed himself, how did he get so worked up so quickly?

Sero didn't want the topic to change, but he didn't want to pressure the little grape. "Mineta, if there's something that's happened, or is bothering you, you can talk to me." Sero said softly.

He wanted to. He desperately wanted to tell _anyone _from his class about what happened. It'd been gnawing away at him day by day, but he had to face the hard reality of the situation.

Who would believe him? Really, who would believe the story? That Mineta out of all people suddenly could time travel now. He could already see the expressions of his classmates, and he could hear their doubtful words.

_"_Well you're right about one thing Mineta, that does sound absolutely crazy."__

_"_Mineta, maybe you should see a doctor?"__

_"_No offense Mineta, but that's kind of impossible."__

_"_I want to believe you man, but I don't think that thing could happen, like at all!"__

He knew that he was being silent for too long, because Sero frowned at his silence. The grape boy knew Sero pretty decently, so Sero probably did not like his sudden silence. Mineta was aware about his personality, and how it had been all over the place this past week, ever since Aizawa's announcement of the finals. He just didn't know it was _that_ obvious, shouldn't the other students be focused on studying for exams?

And he knew damn since he was infamous for being a little perverted runt, no one exactly was willing to run to his aid or anything. His grades were still pretty good, it was just his behavior in general that got people's attention.

"Mineta?"

"Listen, Sero." Mineta breathed in. He'd have to tell the truth another time, but he'd give Sero an answer that hopefully would satisfy him. "Yes. Something did happen. It wasn't pretty. But I'll tell you another time, alright?"

The tape boy frowned at the answer. He was slightly happy that Mineta admitted to something being wrong, but he still evaded to what exactly happened. He wasn't completely satisfied, but it would have to do for now. Perhaps he'd ask Midoriya for his advice on how to approach the issue.

"That, and I don't want to apologize to Mina and Kaminari, but it's probably because of my issue that I feel like this."

Sero scratched his head. "Well..." After roughly 20 seconds of him just thinking, he looked back up at Mineta. "About your issue with them, I may have a solution." Sero said confidently. Mineta raised an eyebrow, and Sero took that as his cue to continue.

"If whatever happened is bothering you this much, maybe it's causing these new (and hopefully) unwanted emotions. You kinda acted all cocky, like a certain explosive boy we know."

Mineta put a finger to his chin in thought. Sero _did_ have a point. Hell, being compared to Bakugo was bad enough. He'd do his damned best to change.

Sero held a finger out as if to make a point. "And think of it like this, you'll be remembered from the way you acted in life, I don't mean to suddenly get dark, but if you were 6 feet under, would you want people to remember you as someone like Bakugo? Or would you want them to remember you as someone like Midoriya?"

Mineta looked up quickly. "I'd want to be remembered like Midoriya!" Mineta said without missing a beat.

Sero went for the bullseye. "Then Midoriya would probably say that forgiving people is something that a hero would do? Instead of holding on to the distasteful emotions, shouldn't you indeed be the bigger man and let go? And apologize?" Sero had hastily added on that last part, as that was the objective of this little pep talk of his, to get Mineta to apologize, and be his old self.

Well, not one hundred percent old self, Sero could do without Mineta getting in trouble for being a little pervert every week at UA. That would be a change that Sero could appreciate.

His seemed to get through, as Mineta nodded his head in agreement. "You're... you're right! I wanna be like Midoriya, I wanna be cool!" Mineta pumped his fist enthusiastically, sounding a bit like his old self again.

Sero smiled. "That's good to hear. Thanks for listening little buddy." Sero said as he stood back up. Things seemed to be hopefully going in the right direction. Hopefully, Mineta would be changing for the best now.

Mineta's eyes went wide as he suddenly remembered one last thing. "Oh Sero, I uh, kinda forgot to tell you something. About our practical..." He said as he rubbed the back of his head a bit nervously.

His hesitation in the tone of his voice made Sero a bit nervous, since the tape boy's voice took a different pitch. "Oh? What else happened?" His expression was a bit worried.

_Welp. Time to tell him the other truth of the exam._

"When Midnight used her Somnambulist on you, you fell and uh, kinda rubbed up on Midnight's chest."

Sero's thought stopped in it's tracks. "Eh?" the tape boy's face squinted in confusion, obviously not expecting for Mineta to say that to him.

"Yeah," Mineta said, sweatdropping. "After you completely passed out she also sat down and put your head in her lap. But since you were kinda asleep..."

"I didn't remember any of it." Sero concluded. Sero was not as enthusiastic about women as say Mineta or Kaminari, but still, that was freaking _**Midnight **_they were talking about. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Damn. That kinda sucks." Sero said.

Mineta nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that dude. I would of killed to be in your place." He sympathetically patted Sero's back. "Well, at least you can tell other people that you got to touch her. It's the technicality that counted, right?

If you asked Sero about the whole "touching Midnight's chest" thing, he wasn't actually too choked up about it. Sure, he was a bit mad that he didn't remember any of it, but groping adult women wasn't exactly high on his priority list. He'd probably forget that Mineta told him this by tomorrow, but he humored Mineta just to get his mind off of whatever was bothering him earlier.

But he'd have to ask sometime.

* * *

**This one took much less time then the previous chapter, since the farther I go in the chapters, the more I slowly improve, so going back to these, I have to do less each chapter since I've improved each time I wrote a chapter, so that makes it easier for me. Looks like Mineta still had females on the brain occasionally, so maybe Sero will get Mineta back to his old self?**

**If you enjoyed, please Review/Follow/Fav**


	10. Shopping Spree and Water Fun

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 10****

****Shopping Spree and Water Fun****

* * *

"E-Everyone, I'm l-looking f-forward to hearing your c-camp stories," Mina said, her shaky voice indicating that she was about to break into tears. Mina had been utterly devastated at her failure, and it showed once someone brought up the topic of the camp. The pink girl had immediately gotten emotional, and borderline crying.

Although the whole crying thing seemed to already happened, as Mineta noticed the tears threatening to leak out of the corners of the pink girl's eyes as she sniffled.

It was another sense of deja vu as Mineta sat and watched as Midoriya desperately tried to reassure her, obviously distressed at the fact that one of his friends was about to cry. Mineta knew if someone cried long or hard enough in front of Midoirya, the green haired boy would probably join in and shed his own tears.

Mineta raised his eyebrows as the events unfolded in front of him.__ Midoriya sure does care a lot for his classmates. He certainly is hero material. __

Mineta knew very well that they would go camping anyways, so he tried to reassure them the best he could. "Midoriya's right," Mineta called to them from his desk. "This is UA we're talking about, he's probably gonna say he deceived us on purpose." He said as he fiddled with a pencil.

Kaminari and Mina just gave him nasty looks in response. Mineta inwardly cursed his tone, it probably sounded snarkier than what he would of preferred. __I should apologize to them soon, they probably thought I was insulting them. I should watch my tone...__

"Oh yeah! How would you know?!" Mina said, a few spare tears leaking from her eyes. The acid girl wiped at her wet eyes while Uraraka patted her back sympathetically.

Watching from the side of the room, Sero gave a knowing nod at Mineta. The grape boy still had to apologize, but was met with dirty looks from the two students whenever he tried to approach them. He'd try to ask at the mall, he was pretty sure they went there today, right? If he didn't get the chance, he'd make sure he'd do it at the camp.

Mineta tried not to doze off as Aizawa came in once more, and revealed that he had s_hockingly _lied to them (The horror), and they were all going to the camp since nobody there failed both exams.

Mina and Kaminari were overjoyed as to be expected, and Mineta was vaguely aware that Mina had glanced at him with a frown on her face. Most likely she remembered that Mineta had predicted that they would go.

He tried not to flinch at her glare, while failing to do so. Sero was right, he needed to apologize as soon as they got there. Like it or not, holding this grudge probably wouldn't be very good for him in the long run, especially considering what was going to happen.

Aizawa finished his announcement, and just like the first time, the class began to discuss going to the mall on a shopping spree for stuff for their trip. Mina obviously, was the most excited. Nothing got her blood going more than going shopping with her friends

* * *

Although Kaminari and Mina didn't look to thrilled that Mineta had decided to tag along on their shopping trip, they didn't say anything. Which the grape boy was obviously thankful for, he wasn't looking for drama, not today. The past few days had taught Mineta that there could be such thing as too much drama.

"Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall!" Mina exclaimed happily, pumping a fist in the air as the others looked around in amazement at the size of the shopping center, stands, concessions, and built in clothing stores were scattered around in the huge complex. After being recognized by some strangers, who knew their faces from the Sports Festival broadcast, the students discussed what to buy.

"I need to buy a big carry on bag," Jirou said. Yaoyorozu smiled in response at Jirou's suggestion. "Then why don't we go together?" Yaoyorozu suggested cheerfully.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Mineta could already see one of them getting distracted by a brightly colored dress, or a rather large purse. Well, maybe not Jirou. She'd probably get a leather motorcycle jacket or something really hardcore, knowing the rockstar girl.

But Mineta had shopping needs of his own. Beginning to pace around a fountain deep in thought, he began to plan."I wonder if this mall has first aid medical kits... maybe even trauma kits as well if I'm lucky...Perhaps a gas mask?" Mineta thought out loud. The forest attack would probably mean a lot of people would get hurt. and it would be awhile before emergency services arrived. He scratched an itch on his neck in irritation.

But he had little medical knowledge. Even if he had some knowledge of stitching deep cuts, it probably wouldn't do much. Especially when it came to villains, if an attack from villains resulted in injuries like the ones that got Aizawa completely mummified, small stitches really wouldn't be very useful. This wasn't something he could put a band aid on and call it a day.

The teachers obviously knew their stuff when it came to saving and rescuing people in need. (Hopefully) that was one issue settled. But Mineta was no fool. The teachers couldn't be everywhere at once. He'd have to find out if one of his classmates had talent for medical stuff.

Obviously someone smart. Someone who was extremely intelligent, and knew their stuff, maybe Iida, and...

_Yaoyorozu._

Oh boy. Did _all_ of his solutions revolve around that girl? Of course it did. It _was_ his fault that he had decided to be an asshole during the exams, and she probably still remembered that whole shtick with him disrespecting her. That probably wasn't going to be much help with the situation. But from a realistic outlook, she was an almost perfect candidate.

Well, other then her experience, with how much stuff she knew, she just had to know something right? Maybe her quirk could make extra medical supplies, materials, and tools. That would be pretty useful when the villains decided to strike. He faintly remembered her during their first days at UA and how she explained how she "studied" something so she knew...What was it that she knew? Mineta couldn't think of it but he knew whatever it was enabled her to create whatever she wanted. Something with atoms or whatever.

He'd have to convince her to help with the creating thing as well. But he could wait until the villains actually came, the smoke obviously would make her cooperate a bit faster. But the issue of the gas masks, she might not believe him. She'd be too suspicious. He'd have to come up with a solution for that later.

Still, he had to focus, maybe grab a gas mask or two for himself, if they sold them there. Professional gas masks and trauma kits usually weren't exactly cheap, and they weren't exactly common in malls. But this was a big and pretty popular mall, so maybe there'd be a chance.

He'd have to look pretty damn hard, and he'd probably get odd looks from his classmates, but he'll just tell them that his mother was worried for him, and that she demanded he took precautions. But other than the looks he'd get, he knew he was gonna have to fork up a lot of cash to pay for that stuff.

Before he left, Mineta stopped in his tracks. Something else happened hadn't it? Something important here, but his memories were a bit mucked up thanks to having to repeat more than a weeks worth of the past. He briefly remembered something happening to someone? Someone was going to do something...

He shook the thoughts from his head, as everyone had already split up while Uraraka conversed to Midoriya about something. He wasn't about to go investigate, he had to get as much stuff as he could. He'd let his friends enjoy themselves and their shopping, since none of them probably wanted him there.

As Mineta walked off from the meet up spot, the grape haired boy didn't seem to notice the bizarre looks from Kaminari and Midoriya when they heard him mention a trauma kit. Mineta didn't seem to notice their bizarre looks as he branched off from everyone else in the group.

* * *

If you asked her personally, Yaoyorozu honestly wasn't in the mood for Mineta, as his recent behavior had been irritating her. And the grape haired boy's mean words against Mina and Kaminari earlier still greatly upset her. But before they announced the plan to meet back at 3pm, she had caught and earful of his muttering. She ignored most of it the little boy's rambles, but then she heard something that made her halt in her tracks. Something that she'd _never_ expect from Mineta.

_"M___aybe even trauma kits if I'm lucky...Perhaps a gas mask?" __Mineta said as he looked around the mall.

Her head snapped in the boy's direction after she heard that last part. Her ponytail almost slapped her face with how fast she turned. Jirou, seeing her friend suddenly look towards Mineta, now was staring towards Mineta as well. Jirou was well known for having pretty good hearing, so it was obvious she caught that as well. Neither of them said anything though.

__Trauma Kits? Aren't those the ones usually used only by EMS professionals for really grievous injuries? __She didn't like the sound of it. The mention of gas masks weren't reassuring either. What was he planning to do with those kind of items? And why did he need them for the summer camp?

A voice beside her brought her back to the real world. "You alright?" Jirou said from behind Yaoyorozu, noticing her sudden silence. (And the fact that Yaoyorozu had just stopped in her tracks when they were going to get their bags.) She had a good idea what Momo was bothered about though.

The create based quirk girl nodded. She turned towards Mineta, who seemed to shrink the farther he walked away from them. "Yes, but did you hear..."

"What Mineta said? Yeah." Jirou said as she fiddled with one of her ear jacks absentmindedly. "Caught me off guard too. What the hell do you think he's up too?"

The black haired girl sighed. "I don't know. His personality has been all over the place. The week before we studied, he was still just acting perverted. And now...I don't know."

It just screamed __wrong___. _Most of Class A had been aware of the odd change of Mineta, but very few had commented or taken action. She wasn't outright about to accuse him with working with the League Of Villains just because of him acting odd and a bad feeling in her gut. She did want to say something to someone, she didn't like this at all.

She couldn't pin anything on him. _Not yet, she didn't have enough evidence. Nodding to Jirou, they headed off to shop and buy themselves some bags and stuff for the camping trip._

* * *

After looking for a decent amount of time with no luck, Mineta had given up looking for kits. Now his new plan was buying supplies to make his own homemade trauma kit. Then again, what kind of a mall would be selling hospital quality supplies? A quick search online with his phone of what were usually inside EMS standard trauma kits gave him a good idea of what he should be looking for though.

It was longer (and more painful) process then just buying from someone who happened to sell EMS equipment, but it'd have to do. Mineta knew that he would have to be quick, especially since he hadn't gotten his gas masks yet.

After searching for some time in different shops, he had some luck, because one of the more shadier shops in the less populated section of the mall seemed to be able to hook him up, once he forked up enough cash. (Not to mention the humorous looks he had gotten from the people who shopped there. Then again, a kid buying a bandages, stitches, hydrogen peroxide and other stuff was pretty odd in the first place anyways.

During his search for the meds, he managed to find a store that actually had a gas mask, which was an added bonus. Though the other customers and the owner gave him an odd look for buying such a bulky gas mask. Well, a kid buying an expensive gas mask like that in general is pretty odd. It cut his time here in half, and maybe if he was fast enough, he could swing by the food court and grab a bite to eat.

Satisfied, Mineta began to head to the rendezvous point planned, but was shocked to hear an announcement over the speakers that the mall was to be temporarily closed, (It also apologized for any inconvenience, but the woman over the speakers could not sound any more bored.)

Then it hit him like a semi truck. The realization of the one thing he had forgotten. Midoriya had a run in with that handsy guy, whatever his name was. And was almost killed in front of Uraraka. Mineta facepalmed at his own stupidity.

__Oh yeah, oops...__

Mineta didn't panic for too long, as he knew that Izuku survived the encounter, only with some bruising to the neck, since mister hands had strangled the poor boy. And the mall had promptly been evacuated. But they never found a hint of the villain, proving he was a sly dog. Mineta guessed that mister hands had his teleport buddy to give him a quick exit. Man, he hated teleport quirks.

The green haired boy was slightly shaken from the experience, but he seemed mentally healthy, Uraraka had been the most relieved out of all the class, borderline crying after suffocating poor Midoriya with a bone crushing hug. Apparently Uraraka had gotten front row seats to watching the hands dude strangle Midoriya. Once he met up with her again the brown haired girl had sobbed into Midoriya's shoulder, afraid that he was going to die. Although he was red as a tomato, Midoriya managed to quickly assure her that he was perfectly fine.

Even though Midoriya was fine, Mineta still felt like an idiot for forgetting. He could of done something, he didn't know what though. Well, it had passed, and everything turned out okay so far, so Mineta didn't feel _too_ guilty.

* * *

**Much, much, later after the mall...**

"The pool?" Midoriya said curiously. When he opened the door to someone knocking on his door, he wasn't expecting Kaminari to offer for him to come to the school pool.  
"Yeah! Before the summer camp! We should train together!" Kaminari nodded, seemingly excited. Perhaps Kaminari was trying a bit harder now? Midoriya grinned at the thought of his classmate trying his best, which was expected of all the kids at UA. It'd make Midoriya pretty happy if Kaminari was stepping up. Although on a more depressing note, he was half expecting for Mineta to be standing aside Kaminari. Not anymore, obviously. He wanted to ask, but he had a feeling in his gut that the topic would be a bit sensitive for Kaminari. Especially the fact that he hadn't brought it up by himself at all told Midoriya enough that he didn't want to talk about it.

Though it _was_ a good idea to get some training. Swimming was a great way to get exercise and work most of your muscles. So Midoriya agreed to come. After permission from Aizawa, (And a weird look from the tired Pro Hero,) the two boys headed for the pool after Midoriya texted all the other boys to come as well.

Although he quickly found out that Kaminari that had originally come for the girls in swimsuits. Midoriya just sighed in disappointment. Well, some things never changed. Although Mineta had been acting in a negative manner recently, Midoriya would honestly prefer if Kaminari copied Mineta's new "Not a pervert" thing.

With an encouragement from Iida, who was very thrilled at the fact that this was now apparently training, they raced some, exercised while the girls played volleyball, and were about to have a quirk race in the pool.

Until Aizawa decided to burst in, informing the class that it was 5pm and they had to leave, to the disappointment of the class. One by one, the kids hesitantly walk to the exit, towels draped over their soaked bodies. Mina and Jirou seemed to be the most bummed out about leaving, while some students like Bakugo just didn't really care.

On the bright side, it had been a rather enjoyable day for Midoriya, and the other students seemed to be enjoying themselves as well to his delight. Although he was sad that the fun was over, he was glad that he got to go to the pool with his classmates. Well, most of them.

Although Mineta hadn't shown his face at all today.

After the arrival of the other students earlier that day, Midoriya assumed Mineta just didn't see his message, and he sent him a direct message informing him of the training session.

* * *

**Earlier that day...**

Lying in his bed, Mineta looked blankly at the message that stared back at him. Midoriya was hosting a training session at the pool with Kaminari? Knowing his classmates and how they adored Midoriya (save Bakguo), they'd probably all go to train. But Mineta was well aware that some people probably didn't want him there, and would probably have a more enjoyable time if he was a no show.

Probably the only people would notice his absence would be Midoriya and Sero. Kaminari would too, but he'd probably be happy that Mineta wouldn't be there.

It hurt to think about, and that people seemed to despise him even more now, even if he was trying to stop being perverted. Looks like he wasn't trying hard enough. He turned his phone off and closed his eyes to get a quick power nap. Or a good day sleep if his body's automatic alarm clock didn't wake him up. But for now, he'd try to enjoy the darkness of unconsciousness where he didn't have to worry about anything.

* * *

**Another rewrite done. The more I go further in the story the easier this gets, which means I'll probably be out of the hiatus faster, so that's a positive. Also added a conversation with Jirou since once I re-read this, I noticed a _huge_ plothole about Jirou not being able to hear Mineta, but Momo could? Makes no sense, so I added that little scene. **


	11. Climb Aboard! The Bus Departs Now!

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 11****

****Climb Aboard! The Bus Departs Now!****

* * *

This was it. The day they went to the camp. It wasn't the night of the attack, but Mineta was still very nervous. The idea of going while certain doom awaited them (While everyone else was blissfully unaware of the attack) was unsettling, and very nerve wracking. He wanted to tell them, but it was the same as before. Who'd believe him? Time travel by dying. Because _that_ sounds believable. Exactly why he hadn't told anyone else about his quirk.

But now, he paced back and forth, his nerves completely wracked. What would happen? Would people die? Would some be permanently crippled to the point where they could no longer be heroes? Would someone get taken away? Would there be another Nomu? The possibilities were endless, and for once that inspirational phrase gave Mineta an indescribable amount of dread in his gut.

What he feared most, is what if he failed? Not as in him dying, but someone had to pay for a mistake he made. Someone _dying _because of an idiotic mistake that might make. He couldn't imagine living with the guilt. But... would he have to live with the defeat?

Would he have to die in order to restart the timeline? It's how he managed to do it the first time though. The villain had effectively ended his life during the villain attack, which ended in him waking up in the past. Was it a second chance scenario where he'd only get one more try, and that was it? Or it could be unlimited tries, which seemed to be the more favorable option. That, and Mineta preferred the unlimited chances since only getting one more try was rather scary to think about.

But another issue was how he would go about "restarting" if he failed. Would one option for him could be to look for the nearest villain to do the deed so he could try once more? Maybe. If he had to. People were counting on him, even if they didn't know it. He didn't have time to be a coward. His old, perverted self was gone. It didn't matter what he was now, since he was the only thing between his friends and outright disaster.

But what if the villains were already gone? If the grape boy was forced to do the deed himself? He shuddered at the thought. Could he actually be able to do that? To _kill _himself? Mineta attempted to shake the disturbing thought away, but it wouldn't leave. He tried to keep his breath steady as the mental image of him doing the deed burned itself into his head.

If it had to come to that... then Mineta was thankful that he had brought a box cutter. He didn't risk bringing a pocket knife because the one he had was a bit on the bulky side. The plastic handle made the box cutter light and easy to transport in his pocket. Besides,the teachers there never checked their bags, so there was no risk of being found out.

But the more he thought about taking his own life... The idea of him taking the small blade to his throat, and plunging it into his jugular...

"Mineta!"

A voice shook Mineta from his dark thoughts. Turning towards the sound of his name, Mineta saw his bespectacled classmate Iida approaching him.

Mineta frowned, what did Iida want with him? Then the memory surfaced in his head._ Oh yeah... I haven't apologized to Mina or Kaminari yet, had I?_ He was in for an earful now. Not that he blamed Iida, he had promised him that he'd apologize, and here he was not keeping his promise.

Surprisingly, instead of shouting to the entire school that Mineta hadn't apologized, he leaned towards Mineta and used a rather inside voice. "Mineta, may I ask why you haven't apologized to the likes of Mina or Kaminari?" Iida said calmly.

The grape haired boy's eyes widened in surprise. He was honestly expecting Iida to have harsher words for him, not having a rather inside tone. Regaining his composure, Mineta put his hand to his forehead. "Because I haven't worked up the nerve. I'm not exactly known for having backbone Iida." That was probably the most truthful he'd been so far this week. And probably the most believable, since Mineta knew damn well he was well known for being cowardly and spineless.

The bespectacled boy frowned at Mineta's answer. "I see. Well, I feel it is necessary for you to apologize to both of your fellow students. Would you like my assistance in the matter?"

Mineta hadn't expected that. Iida offering his help in apologizing? That actually would be a big help since he lacked the spine to do it himself. Mineta seemed to light up at the suggestion. He had been wanting to apologize, but fear usually held him on the spot. He nodded. "Alright, should we do it now or wait?"

His bespectacled classmate had a look of surprise on his face, probably not expecting Mineta to be so agreeable. His surprised look died down, and Iida seemed to have a pleased smile on his face. "Let me say this now Mineta, I'm very pleased that you are willing to try!"

Mineta put a hand to his chin in a manner not unlike Tsuyu. "Thanks, but do we go over now? Or should we wait?" He wanted to say that he already asked once, but since Iida was in a good mood, so he'd just repeat himself politely. No reason to kill the moment.

Glancing up at the other group of students, Iida held his chin in his hand, mimicking Mineta's pose from a few seconds earlier. "Well, it's best to do this when we are in a open area, rather then a cramped bus. I believe the best time is to do this now."

Mineta smiled hopefully. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. "Then lead the way!"

Iida also had a reassuring grin on his face. "Follow me!" Iida said as they marched over to Mina and Kaminari. Mineta felt that maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. As long as no one decided to interrupt, that is.

* * *

****Meanwhile...****

A certain green haired boy of Class A was in deep thought about the class going to the camp. Sure, he was overjoyed that the whole class would be going to the camp, since seeing Mina cry had shattered his heart. Though the question remained; what exactly would they _do _there? It was a training camp, not a leisure trip. Aizawa had told them enough for them to understand that this wasn't a vacation. They'd be exercising their quirks most likely, there wasn't much else they could train when it comes to hero class.

Would there be perhaps a competition between the classes? Or next to impossible training from Aizawa, since their teacher seemed to love borderline torturing the poor students when it came to training. Perhaps just a more difficult version of their training classes at school?

His thought was abruptly cut off when a sweet voice called to him. A voice that threatened to make his heart melt.

"Deku! It's finally time to go to training camp, huh?" Uraraka called as she bounded to Midoriya, who's face immediately went tomato red at his crush being so close to his face. Her face was literally _inches _from his.

"Th-Thats right Uraraka!" Midoriya squeaked, hands flying everywhere in a half hearted attempt to cover his face. __So close!__

Uraraka didn't seem to catch on why the green haired boy looked like he was about to melt. She leaned closer to his face to get a better look at him, to Midroiya's panic _why was she so close I don't think I can handle this!_

"What's the matter?" She asked sweetly as she looked his face over, probably to see if he was ill or something.

But right now Midoriya's face was so hot, you could probably crack an egg on his face, and it'd probably fry instantly. "W-well, u-uh..." He couldn't think of anything to say anymore. All blood had left his brain in favor of his freckled cheeks.

Luck seemed to favor the poor boy, as Uraraka's face suddenly went red as well, and she backed off roughly 20 feet away. She clasped her hands together and started singing about training camp, while Mina and Kaminari joined in as well, even though the two had no idea why they were singing.

The sudden change of attitude surprised Midoriya. __Wow, she's really excited for training camp! __He glanced to the side to see an amused Iida and Mineta watching the spectacle unfold as well. Had they watched when Uraraka was up close to his face? He blushed more in embarrassment. It was definitely a sight to behold, though. Uraraka, Mina, Kaminari clapped their hands and did a cute little dance while they sang to their hearts content about going to training camp. Seeing Uraraka change emotions on a dime was a little bizarre.

People seemed to be in high spirits, however the mood was about to be temporarily killed, thanks to a certain blonde from Class B deciding to make an unwanted appearance.

* * *

Unfortunately for Monoma, Mineta knew he'd make his appearance, and branched off from tagging along with Iida to apologize since Kaminari and Mina seemed to be a bit preoccupied with their dance session with Uraraka. He subtly made his way towards the blonde boy, who had a smirk growing on his face. Monoma put a hand on his head mockingly as if he couldn't believe what he himself was about to say.

Monoma's smile grew as he looked at Class A. "What?! There are people in Class A taking extra classes?!" The blonde cried, "Does that mean you had people who failed the exam?! Even thou-"

"Shut up." a voice interrupted the blondes speech.

The blonde boy in question stopped abruptly. "Eh?"

Even Kendo, who was readying herself to give Monoma a good chop, stopped.

Monoma looked to his left, where Mineta stood, wearing a glare on his face. The grape boy stared at him, contempt written all over his face. "Shut up."

Monoma's smirk returned, he wasn't about to be silenced by this kid! "Oh ho! It's Mineta, the little pervert from Class A! I can't believe they even let you in this school, let alone within 10 feet near a female! I wonder how many restraining orders you have?"

He cackled as Mineta stared with an indifferent expression, while Iida had caught on and began marching over to Monoma to scold him. Even if he was in a different class, everyone knew Iida would be glad to scold a troublesome student.

Iida's lecture was stopped by Mineta holding his hand up. "It's alright." Mineta said calmly, holding his glare with Monoma.

Adjusting his glasses, Iida frowned thoughtfully. "Are you sure? I don't think..."

"Thanks Iida, but I can handle him." Mineta said as he stared at Monoma.

He walked over to Monoma who smirked again cockily at the lack of a response. "What's the matter? Can't defend yourself?" Monoma said with that stupid cocky smile he had plastered on his face.

Mineta seemed to size Monoma up as he looked at him from head to toe multiple times. Mineta didn't say anything however, it was like he was looking at a mannequin in a clothing store.

Annoyed at Mineta's actions and his lack of response in general, Monoma's smirk went into a scowl. "What the hell are you doi-"

"Who are you again?" Mineta suddenly blurted out, effectively cutting Monoma off from whatever he was going to say.

Whatever Monoma was expecting, it wasn't __that. ___What the hell did he mean by that? "Who are you?" _The blonde boy's scowl died, now contorted into confused expression. "Wh-wha-"

Mineta held both hands up a little, as if indicating he meant no harm. "Sorry, it's just I can't even remember who you are. You were in the Sports Festival right? Even though you didn't make it to the final part where it was the student versus student fight."

Monoma was shocked at his words. His lips pressed into a thin line now, smirk and scowl completely gone. He wondered what was Mineta talking about?

Mineta's unintentional _(not really)_ assault was relentless. "What was your quirk again? I don't remember seeing anything noteworthy or memorable, no offense."

Monoma was speechless. He couldn't think of a response. Where the hell had this little pervert gotten his sharp tongue from? Never had he heard something like this from Mineta. He was actually too shocked to speak. His classmate Kendo had also nothing to say, her and the rest of Class B staring at the grape boy.

Iida also stopped. He looked like he was going to say something to Mineta, who's expression was blank as usual. The bespectacled boy rubbed his head, as if watching the whole conversation had exhausted him. "Mineta, please." Iida said with a tired voice, just hoping that Mineta would cooperate without any sass.

Mineta just smiled innocently and saluted. "Yes sir!" And with that, he walked back to join Class A by their bus. As he joined his class, he turned around slightly with an innocent smile on his face to wave at Monoma.

The blonde boy however, just clenched his fists and went into his line with Class B. His classmate Kendo just glanced at him worriedly, and then Mineta. She looked like she was wanting to say something, but held her tongue.

Iida frowned as he watched the two boys go their seperate ways. He wanted to say more, but the bus had arrived. Remembering he was the class rep, Iida knew that he had a job to do. "Everyone! Line up in seat order!" he said as he chopped his hand in the air. After breaking up their conversations, Class A eventually lined up in proper order, and piled onto the bus.

* * *

****Awhile later...****

"Everyone!" Aizawa said loud enough for the entire class to hear. "The bus will stop once in about an hour. After that-"

His announcement however, was completely drowned out by the loud chatter from his class, who paid absolutely no attention to their teacher as they socialized. Friends talked and laughed, some more anti social students settled for just fiddling around on their phones. Well, the ones that were actually smart enough to remember to charge their phones before they got on the bus.

Aizawa was about to just turn back around, only for something in the back to catch the Pro Hero's eye.

Mineta, was isolated in the very back seat, while Class A were in correct order in the two seaters. The boy had apparently saw fit to sit in the four seater at the back of the bus by himself. No one spoke to him either. Then again, the look on his face didn't scream that he wanted to talk to anyone at all.

His expression was that of one deep in thought. Well judging from overhearing some of the small talk between students, apparently Mineta had been changing these past weeks, for the better or worse, Aizawa didn't know. He had seen Mineta glare at other people more often though, and his voice had changed a bit. You'd have to strain to hear it, but once you noticed it you wouldn't be able to unhear it. Whatever Mineta's was doing, it better not cause any drama. Aizawa already had one problem child to deal with.

* * *

Iida had stood up to yell at someone extra loud classmates near the back of the bus, but now noticed Mineta's voluntary isolation from his classmates as well. The boy still hadn't apologized to Mina and Kaminari, thanks to Uraraka's surprise dance and sing session, and Monoma's unwanted appearance.  
Another student had seemed to notice this was well, as Midoriya had followed Iida's gaze, and spotted the lonely Mineta.

He shot a concerned glance at Iida. "What happened?" Midoriya said as he risked another glance at Mineta, who thankfully hadn't seemed to notice his friends looking right at him.

His bespectacled classmate put a hand to his chin. He glanced at Kaminari, who was currently one seat in front of him. Iida knew he'd have to be quiet, talking about Mineta within earshot of the electric boy wouldn't end well. He leaned to Midoriya and whispered. "Mineta's behavior is greatly concerning me, Midoriya."

Midoriya nodded in understanding. Midoriya very well remembered Mineta's outbursts and him lashing out at his classmates, Mina and Kaminari once again being the prime example of them all. He looked at Iida with a solemn expression. "Yes. His... behavior has been very noticeable."

"Mm. I was about to have him apologize to them, but it seemed like bad timing, with Uraraka getting them all worked up, and Class B's troublesome student deciding to harass us." Iida said, not naming any specific names of Class B.

That seemed like a reasonable reason to be concerned. At least, Midoriya thought so. "Should we ask him about it once we arrive at the camp?" It would probably be best to do that, in Midoriya's opinion. At a camp full of sunlight and fresh air would be a much better place instead of a cramped bus.

* * *

**Another rewrite, another day my friends! Looks like Mineta has gotten interrupted by the pesky Blonde. Review/Follow/Fav if you like what I make!**


	12. Wild, Wild Pussycats

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 12****

****Wild, Wild Pussycats****

* * *

After what seemed like hours of driving for miles, the bus finally came to stop at a cliffside, and popped it's doors wide open.

The more energetic students of Class A had obviously scrambled to get out first, a few grunts and a few "moves" from the students as they pushed and squeezed to get out first. An unnamed hot headed blonde cursed after getting an elbow to the stomach by accident, with the culprit never being found. After the miniature traffic jam had cleared up, the more level headed students also piled out in single neat line. The more shy ones also piled out after them as well.

Mineta went out last.

Relieved that they could finally get some room to walk around, Class A students were walking around as they tried to get the blood in their legs going. Some students simply settled for stretching in place to work their muscles, which ached from being in the same position for an hour.

Izuku Midoriya was currently stepping out of the bus and stretching. He took a second to admire the view. It was a gorgeous green forest, with mountains surrounding the giant tree covered area. It certainly was a sight to behold. He wished he had a pair of binoculars to admire the greenery, it was amazing.

"Finally taking a break huh?" Kaminari said as he joined Midoriya in a stretch session.

Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, it feels really nice to finally get to stretch. But I wonder why we stopped here? This isn't the camp..."

* * *

A small grape headed boy had once again isolated himself from the group, but still was stretching as well like the rest of his classmates. His muscles were aching. His legs were stiff as hell, and getting able to walk around felt pretty nice in all honesty.

Mineta had thought ahead, and refrained from drinking any liquids before the bus trip, so he wouldn't have an accident like last time. That was rather embarrassing to think about in hindsight. Although now since he hadn't drank anything, he was feeling rather dehydrated. So dehydrated that it felt like if he spat on the ground he'd probably die from dehydration. But at least he wouldn't make a mess of himself.

But for right now, the boy's focus was on a black car neatly parked behind the bus the students were currently climbing out of. He was about to get reintroduced to the feline Pro Heroes that specialized in rescue work, just like last time.

"There's no point in stopping without a reason," Aizawa said in a monotone voice, as the students around had started asking why they had stopped here instead of the camp itself.

Mineta turned around as the car doors popped open, and Mineta saw some familiar faces pop out.

"Hey, Eraser!"

The Pro Hero bowed in the direction of the voice. "Long time no see."

Two female catlike heroes stood side by side, huge grins plastered on their faces. They had large gloves shaped like cat paws on their hands, and odd headbands with strange metal protrusions coming out of the top. Upon closer inspection, you'd see the headgear actually resembled cat ears. Both wore bright and exuberant colored vests, with candy cane like stripes going down the middle.

Mineta absently noted with a smirk that they had _very_ short skirts, which gave him a nice view of their legs. Old habits die hard, right? They wore colored boots with metal pieces attached to the top of their footwear. A little collar with a bell was attached to their necks as well. They looked straight out of a pet food commercial. If they weren't so popular, you might think that they were a mascot of some sort.

Some looked on in confusion at the appearance of new people, while others like Midoriya had a huge grin on his face, since he recognized them instantly. Mineta would probably be disappointed if Midoriya didn't instantly recognize a Pro Hero upon sight. Maybe the boy had a journal or a book to write this stuff down, unless he managed to cram all of that info into his noggin.

"**Lock on with these sparkling gazes!**

__Oh joy, here we go. Again.__

"**Stingingly cute and catlike!"**

"**Wild, Wild..."**

"Pussycats." Mineta said, doing a half assed imitation of their poses by holding his arms to the side. He noticed Iida giving him a look of disapproval, so Mineta put his arms down.

His stupid pose had also earned him a raised eyebrow from Aizawa, who looked at him like he just grew a second head. Well, he probably earned that look, Mineta had assumed no one was looking when he did his little dance. His cheeks turned red a little in embarrassment, he totally looked like an idiot right there. He probably should keep his mouth shut a little more. "Sorry." Mineta muttered. He wasn't really sorry though. It was all in jest, no harm no foul, right?

But as the heroes went along explaining what was going on, Mineta realized he had to get to the camp as soon as possible. He wasn't so concerned as to who got there first, but that he got there fast. The sooner he got to the camp, the sooner he could think more about what he was going to do on that godforsaken night. Mineta needed time to plan. He'd have to get them distracted, then run as fast as he could before Pixie could summon her earth beasts to engage him, once she realized he had gotten a head start.

To do that, Mineta did have an idea or two. He'd have to get the other people distracted so he'd be able to leap over the fence that prevented people from falling. It wasn't too bad a fall though, right? When Pixie's quirk had carried them down over the ledge, they had been mostly unscathed. It was probably like a two or three second fall. He'd be fine.

Right?

* * *

Midoriya had gone on a rant unintentionally about how the Pussycats were a veteran team, but apparently "veteran" was the incorrect thing to say in front of Pixie Bob. Because now Midoriya found his face in the grasp of Pixie's paw, her sharp claws out on display.

"I'm 18 at heart!" Pixie growled threateningly, the Pro Hero obviously not taking too kindly to the word "veteran". She tilted her head just a little. "At heart?"

"You're 18!" Midoriya squeaked out in momentarily terror, as Pixie's claws were poking the back of his head when she squeezed his noggin.

After the class greeted the Pussycats properly, Mandalay gestured at the large chunk of land from the cliff they stood on. "We own this whole stretch of land here." She pointed at an area near one of the mountains. "You all will be staying at the foot of that mountain."

**"That's far!"** Class A exclaimed at the distance between their location and the camp. That seemed to be _miles_ between there and here. Some students scratched their heads in confusion, mostly confused why they had stopped here instead of driving to the camp.

Uraraka's face scrunched into one of confusion. "Then, why did we stop all the way over here?"

The frog girl who stood on Uraraka's left put a finger to her chin. "Could this mean?" It had to be right? Aizawa was known for pulling stuff like this. But something like this?

Sato began to sweat as he began to put the pieces together."No way..." Sero knew they had to be kidding right? There was no way they'd be able to get to the camp in one piece.

The other students began to sweat nervously as well, and started inching back towards the bus fearfully. Some considered making a run for it, while others stood petrified in horror.

_**Crch Crch**_

A noise caught Aizawa's attention as he watched the Pussycats. He turned to the source of the noise to see Mineta's feet crunch up against the dry dirt as slowly inched away from the group. But what got Aizawa's attention was that the grape haired boy wasn't inching for the bus, but instead the wooden guardrail. __What was he doing?__

He noticed how slow Mineta was inching towards the cliff, his gaze glued to the Pussycat currently speaking to Class A. __Did he know what was about to happen?__

The only other person who seemed to notice Mineta's odd behavior was the boy with the odd horned cap. Aizawa guess that the boy knew all about Mineta and his reputation, judging from the glare he was giving him.

Class A however seemed completely oblivious to Mineta's little scheme, as their attention was glued onto the red Pussycat. The Pro Heroes in question also did not notice the small grape boy behind them slowly making his way to the rail, still talking to the students._  
_"It's 9:30 AM right now." Mandalay said deviously, her claws now on display as well. She had an evil grin on her face."If you're quick...maybe around-"

Her speech however was cut off by a screeching, tinny voice that could probably shatter glass.

"**MY GOD!" **Mineta pointed behind the group at an empty space in the street the bus had driven on. **"WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL MIGHT IS THAT THING?"**

His entire class spun around in alarm, as Mineta's voice sounded rather frightened.

Nothing. They searched around the empty road, desperately looking for the accused thing that seemed to spook Mineta. Nothing at all. The students, even the Pussycats looked on in confusion.

* * *

As Mineta scrambled over to the wooden railing, Mineta could of sworn he heard someone call his name, but he couldn't be sure. The adrenaline was currently making his heart pound, and he felt slightly dizzy. He he finally went over the edge and began to fall. As Mineta fell, he saw just how high he actually was, and Mineta realized he might of made a slight miscalculation. Just a _slight_ one.

Because the first time Class A was unceremoniously thrown into the forest, it was from Pixie's Earthflow tossing them all onto the ground off the cliff. Mineta realized that he never got a good look at how high they were, since the dirt covered most of their line of sight before they landed. He cursed his stupidity. What was he thinking? That he'd just hop on down and get a head start? He thought he was going to change, but one characteristic that he wished was gone was how he ran before he walked. Mineta wished he had put more thought into his plan.

He wished he did. Because by All Might, this was a steep drop. Really steep. He gulped. Mineta really didn't want to die again, but at how long he was going to be falling... Mineta realized he was about to die. He could already imagine his head splitting open like a water melon. He decided to just close his eyes and wait for the inevitable, hopefully it would be painless.

The grape haired boy might have been imagining things, but he swore he felt his eyes water, the fear of death finally returning. Maybe he'd feel his skull shatter, but hopefully that would be it he prayed for a short, painless, death.

Mineta's demise was suddenly cut off, as he saw the impact area rise up to meet him halfway. As if it was there to _catch_ him. __How did-__

His eyes widened as he recognized what quirk was in play._Pixie Bob._ She must have noticed him when he willingly threw himself off while Class A was distracted. He let out a sigh of relief, thanking his lucky stars that someone noticed, when earlier he had hoped that no one would notice. Irony at it's finest.

After seemingly long seconds of falling, Mineta hit the risen section of the land, and felt pain throughout his entire body. The sudden stop made the pain resonate on the inside as well, and he managed to let out a soft cry of agony.

The land lowered itself, and Mineta noticed how gently it was compared to getting thrown off the first time. As it delicately lowered the grape boy to the ground, Mineta let himself rest, since his entire body ached. He'd just wait a second before he'd start fighting the earth beasts. After all, his classmates weren't even there. He could just wait until the blue Pussycat threw them off as well. Then he'd get up.

But for now, he just decided to take a nap. Mineta knew he had refrained from sleeping on the bus, and he was feeling pretty damn exhausted now, even though he'd just been sitting on his ass for like an hour straight. But now his head was throbbing now pretty badly. Mineta closed his eyes, and embraced the sweet darkness of unconsciousness.

* * *

Out of all the possibilities, outcomes, and events that could happen. Aizawa wasn't expecting for that to happen. Just a few seconds ago he was watching his students in mild amusement. Watching Class A shiver in terror at the idea of having to make their way all the way over to their camp, it was quite an amusing spectacle. He expected them to make a break for the bus, to no avail though.

He didn't expect Mineta to point at an empty area behind the students and begin to shout about something there. All the other student's gazes snapped in the direction Mineta was pointing, Aizawa kept his eyes glued on Mineta. _What was he doing?_

Then the boy suddenly began borderline sprinting towards the guardrail when everyone else's attention was on the empty spot. Mineta then started to climb the fence, much to Aizawa's shock. His eyes widened in alarm. "Mineta!"

Mineta had reached the top, and jumped. Aizawa wouldn't admit it, but he felt a stab of momentary terror as the boy went over the edge. What the hell was the boy thinking? Was he trying to get himself killed? Whatever the reason was, he and Mineta needed to have a nice __long__ discussion next time they saw each other.

* * *

Everything that could go wrong, was going wrong. At least for Pixiebob. The feline Hero had intended to have the students all tumble down on a hill of dirt, when they predictably would make a run for the bus in an attempt to escape.

What she didn't expect the grape haired boy to scream and point behind everyone, and then literally throw himself off of the cliff. Was he trying to kill himself?! Pixie's reflexes were thankfully sharp as ever, and she summoned a mound of dirt to catch the poor boy while he plummeted down.

It didn't seem to be enough though, as it sort of cushioned his landing, but with his speed, since he wasn't carried by a mound of dirt (Like she planned...) he hit the dirt head on.

It wasn't a wet smack like a body against the pavement at least. But even so she still reflexively flinched as she heard him hit the dirt mound.

_Ouch._

The other students quickly looked back at Aizawa yelling Mineta's name. Some looked on in alarm, some in annoyance, and some in just genuine curiosity. "What? What happened?" One student cried out in alarm. Sero, wasn't it? Pixie recognized the boy by his tape dispenser like elbows that let him use his quirk.

Pixie clenched her teeth. This had not gone according to plan at all. Pixie took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself a little. Turning back to face the students, she clenched a paw."Listen up, and listen good! You have 3 hours to get to the camp," Turning back to the cliff, she gently lowered Mineta back to solid earth. The boy was obviously alive, but seemed to settle for staying still. "You're allowed to use quirks, since this is private land!"

She summoned Earthflow to make a giant piece of earth to stick out from the cliffside. "Everyone get on." Her venomous tone held no room for argument. She looked at the student that caught her eye originally. "You." She pointed at Midoriya. The boy in question straightened his back, probably afraid of getting clawed. "Y-yes?"

"Once you get down, help your little dare devil buddy, would you?" Midoriya had no idea who she was talking about. But not wanting to cause the already stressed Pro Hero anymore stress, he settled for quickly nodding and not arguing.

Though he had a sneaking suspicion that someone might be Mineta, since he heard Aizawa yell his name.

Pixie tapped her foot impatiently, as the students hadn't complied with her command originally. She gestured once more, albeit a bit more quickly. "On. Now."

Most of Class A now wore nervous looks, and reluctantly piled on the giant land mass.

Using Earthflow, she used the mound of dirt as a makeshift elevator for the students and lowered them gently down to the bottom of the cliff.

Class A had to struggle to keep their balance as the earth mound they stood on unexpectedly began to lower itself straight towards the ground. Not so fast as they would fall off, but they did almost lose their balance a few times as the the platform shook slightly. After a few seconds of the land mass quickly lowering to the ground, it came to a stop.

As the class dusted themselves off and regained their bearings, Sero then noticed a still form that was just lying on the ground. His eyes widened as he sprinted over to the unmoving boy that was splayed out on the dirt.

"Mineta?!"

* * *

****Ok, to be honest writing this chapter was a complete pain in the ass, and I'm not 100% satisfied with it. But I tried my best and maybe I'll fix it up later. But for now, this rewrite is the best I got. Uh, if you happened to like this tragedy of a chapter, please Review/Follow/Fav****


	13. Attack Of The Forest Beasts

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 13****

****Attack Of The Forest Beasts****

* * *

Upon seeing the immobile boy, Midoriya bounded over to the still form of Mineta. The boy was completely still. Midoriya inwardly panicked at the lack of movement. _What happened? Why is he down here? _Quickly, Midoriya checked for a pulse. A heartbeat was thankfully there, and the boy's chest rose and fell. Mineta was alive but was not moving, other than when he breathed. Relieved, Midoriya gave a shaky thumbs up to the others. He tried shaking the poor boy, but to no avail. The kid was out cold. Nasty bruises covered the side of his face and some on his arms, probably from the fall. He winced upon seeing some purple blotches.

"What happened to him?" Sero cried. Last time he saw Mineta, he was warning the class about something behind him, but nothing was there when they looked. They then heard Aizawa shouting Mineta's name. When he and the class turned back to where Mineta was standing, the boy was no where to be seen.

"He looks beat up," Hagakure worriedly said, wringing her hands together nervously.

"How did he get down here? He looks pretty bad..." Uraraka said curiously, looking up the cliff where they had stood earlier.

Ojiro sweat dropped. The grape boy looked almost dead. "Did Mineta fall?" It was the only explanation he could come up with.

Midoriya looked up at Ojiro, and shook his head. "I don't think so. The railing was too tall for Mineta to fall over, and I don't think he'd fit through the bars." He glanced back at Mineta. _So if he didn't fall, and no way would the heroes throw him over, so it wasn't that. Though he could..._ Midoriya's eyes widened as he looked back up at the cliff, and at Mineta. He started to piece together the possible answer for their question. "Did..." Midoriya began. "Did Mineta jump?"

"You mean he wasn't thrown off?" Sero said with a drop of sweat rolling down his face. He glanced back at Mineta in disbelief. "Mineta willingly jumped?" _Why the hell would he jump? What would he be trying to accomplish?_

The green haired boy nodded. Question everyone was asking now was why? Why would Mineta decide to throw himself off a cliff? Midoriya tried searching his memory for any probable reasons, but couldn't put anything together.

"Is he crazy?" Jirou said, as she leaned a bit closer to get a look at the damage. "That fall would of killed him, if Pixie didn't see him jump and summon that land mass."

"It definitely would of killed him." Kirishima said, getting a gruesome image of Mineta splattered on the ground. He shook the disturbing thought from his head, trying to get his bearings back.

Even Kaminari was starting to show concern for his old friend. "You don't suppose he was trying to...trying to..." Kaminari swallowed the lump in his throat, not being able to finish the thought out loud. He did not dare to.

The warm summer air seemed to freeze as his classmates considered what Kaminari was implying. Nervous looks were plastered on the faces of most of Class A, except Bakugo, which simply raised an eyebrow at the situation. Tokoyami had a rather indifferent expression, although his head was lowered just a tad bit.

However, Tsuyu seemed to the one to voice the unwanted question everyone had. "Did Mineta attempt suicide?" said the frog girl, her monotone tone now changed to a rather solemn one. Her face appeared completely blank, but Midoriya noticed the slight shake of her voice when she had said the last word. Tsuyu wouldn't admit it, but now she was worried as well.

The seemingly cold air now had turned into solid ice. No one wanted to give their thoughts on the question.

"He, he wouldn't..." Iida said, hesitation clear in his normally calm voice. His voice shook with uncertainty, as he wasn't exactly sure himself. He cursed his doubtful tone, but there was that one whispering in the back of his head, telling him that it could be the reason. _It would make sense, but why?_

Sweat had began to run down Mina's face, the beads of liquid glistened in the sunlight. "I, I don't understand..." Her normally cheerful smile had died down into a slightly frightened expression.

Even the normally cool headed Yaoyorozu frowned. "But, it would perhaps explain his behavior these past few weeks...his unusually short temper nowadays. Mineta has also been lashing out at people lately, he's also been isolating himself from everyone as much as he could. I'm not saying that he might be having these type of thoughts, but it is common that some people with depression are more irritable."

Uraraka looked at Yaoyorozu, then back to Mineta's still form. "Why are they Pro Heroes treating this so normally? To me it looks like he had just tried to take his own life, and they don't seem to concerned."

As if on cue, they heard earth coming down from above them. The students looked up to see Pixie Bob coming down herself on a smaller patch of earth. Her expression was oddly indifferent.

"Well, at least one of them is concerned," Jirou whispered to Uraraka from behind her, as the platform descended to their spot at the edge of the forest. They watched as the platform finally reached the ground, and Pixie hopped off.

"Where is he?" Pixie immediately said upon arriving to the bottom, not wasting any time.

"M-Miss Pixie!" Midoriya called, "Over here!" He gestured for her to come over to where he was, where he still was looking at Mineta. The boy still didn't move, other than breathing in and out. Pixie quickly jogged over to him and crouched down. Midoriya watched as her goggles lit up a bright blue, and seemed to almost scan over the boy. _Could that thing check for injuries?_ Midoriya wondered.

As her visor scanned over the boy, a green check mark popped up in her HUD. _No sign of any notable or dangerous damage to the head or body._ Sighing, Pixie turned to the other students. "He's all right. He'll have a few nasty bruises, and will probably be sore when he wakes up." _What the hell is with kids being so durable?_

Midoriya glanced down at Mineta worriedly. "So, he'll be fine, r-right?" His green eyes shone with concern as Pixie stood up and dusted herself off.

"He should be fine. There's nothing too bad." Most of Class A let out a collective sigh of relief as Pixie relayed the news to them. The Pro Hero calmly turned towards Midoriya once more with a calm expression on her face. "He won't need emergency medical attention, so he's still fit to cross the forest."

Sweating nervously, Kirishima looked down at Mineta. "How? He's not getting up anytime soon, he's out cold!" He scratched his head in confusion as he and his friends watched Mineta's chest rise and fall. "Can we wake him up?"

Pixie spared a glance towards the red head. "Probably not."

Jirou blew a raspberry at the blunt response, now a bit agitated at the Pro Hero not being very specific on the matter. Her face was one of mild irritation, especially at the Pro Hero being vague on the whole situation. "Then what do we do about him? Are you taking him back with you?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

All she got in response to her question was silence. Absolute silence. Pixie simply glanced back at Mineta, then to the forest. She huffed, and started walking back to the cliff edge. "He's fine, except for a few bruises. He can make it through the forest. Same rules apply as I stated before, be there before lunch."

"W-Wait!" Mina cried. "How is he supposed to make it by himself? He's unconscious!" She wrung her hands as Pixie used her quirk to make her own little platform once more. It seemed that Pixie had already made up her mind about leaving him there. "You can't just leave him!" Mina said she tried to stop Pixie from leaving.

"You can't leave him either," Pixie said as her platform began to ascend to the top of the cliff.

_What's that supposed to mean? _Class A thought simultaneously as Pixie reached the top. She glanced at them from the top, then disappeared to presumably speak to Aizawa and Mandalay. Class A was left to their thoughts as awkward silence painfully filled the air. Some more impatient students such as Bakugo began to visibly become more antsy. More calmer students such as Hagakure or Ojiro had thoughtful expressions, though made no moves to say or do anything.

"Does she expect us to leave him?" Todoroki said as he watched Midoriya crouch down by Mineta once more.

Sero raised an eyebrow at the question. "But she said that we can't leave him either," He jabbed a finger to the top of the mountain where their teachers were. "I'm guessing we're supposed to take him." That earned him some mutters of agreement from his classmates who also thought the same.

Looking at the seemingly endless forest, Midoriya nodded. "Alright, I can take him for right now. If it's a straight shot to the camp, I can handle the extra weight for a while." _Might as well, doesn't look like we're going to be fighting anything anyways. _As he reached down, he was stopped by Kirishima's expression, which looked to be both thoughtful, but horrified. "Kirishima, what's wrong?" Midoriya said worriedly. Other classmates caught on to Midoriya's concern, and turned to look at the red head who still hadn't said anything.

"Kirishima?"

Kirishima frowned. "Sorry, sorry. It's just..." He glanced at Mineta once more. "I'm not saying Tsuyu's correct about what she said earlier, but why would he? What had happened to him that made him want to throw himself off a cliff?"

Sato winced at Kirishima's bluntness. "I...Shit, I don't know. I'm pretty sure none of us know Mineta outside school..." He glanced at the female students. "And probably for good reason." He was sure that Mineta probably had no female friends in real life, or on social media. _Everyone saw how he acted at the Sports Festival._

"Maybe..." Sero said holding a finger up, "Something happened to him outside of school recently?" _Had to be,_ he thought. N_othing notable really happened to Mineta in school, other than the godforsaken USJ attack._ He was very used to the old Mineta, a pervy, cocky, brat that seemed to bred to play the "comic relief" role on a television show or something. But now he was disturbingly more competent, and smarter. And he seemed to have an uncomfortable amount of sass.

Clenching his fist, Midoriya spared a glance to his friends. "I don't even know myself, there are so many possible reasons..." _Depression. Traumatic event. Loss of a loved one. Isolation. So many possibilities._

Watching them talk as he grinded his teeth, Bakugo angrily grew more and more impatient. _If the little rat wanted to skydive off a cliff, let him! Maybe he'd get a better quirk in his second life. Throwing sticky balls, what a dumbass quirk. Why the hell are they crowding around Mineta like it is a funeral? We have to move before I miss my damn lunch!_ He was getting visibly agitated at the lack of anyone doing anything.

Midoriya noticed Bakugo was very close to quite literally exploding with impatience. He gulped. Bakugo's fits were not to be taken lightly. The burn marks on his skin could attest to that. However, before any exploding blondes could begin having a hissy fit, a loud, shrieking roar seemed to grab the attention of everyone. It's gurgling growl made everyone who heard it become uneasy, the warbled cry rumbled against their eardrums. Another growl came from the forest, almost seeming to shake the ground. Whatever what made that noise, it was painfully obvious that it was getting closer.

"Wh-what is that?" Hagakure squeaked out fearfully at the loud sound.

The culprit of the loud noise had decided to show itself to the class, growling angrily. A huge, brown, horned monster towered over everyone, with sharp teeth. It's brown skin was rough, dull, and almost looked like it would crumble. It's sight focused on the unconscious Mineta, and growled in anger. Raising a claw, it angled its claw to swipe at the small grape boy.

Koda, seeing that the monster was making a move for his classmates, started running towards the beast with his arms out. "Calm down, kind beast! Stay back!"

The beast ignored the oddly shaped boy's tinny voice, and settled for angrily swiping at the nearest student. The huge hand nearly hit Midoriya, who carried the still form of Mineta over his shoulder. _Why hadn't Koda's quirk calmed the monster down? _He was pretty sure that thing was an animal. Or a beast. Only for his theory to be proven incorrect, when a chunk of the monster's face crumbled off, and landed dully on the ground. That chunk had a earthy, soil like look to it, almost like...

__Dirt?__

Midoriya's eyes widened. __I get it! With Pixie Bob's quirk...She's creating these beasts! __In that case, they'd have to fight these beasts, and make their way to camp in time for lunch. It sounded impossible, but nothing was impossible for Class A, right? "Kaminari, can you handle him for a second?" Midoriya said, as the beast prepared for another attack.

The electric boy hesitated, but eventually nodded. "You can count on me!" Kaminari knew he didn't have time to spite the little grape boy. He was training to be a hero, dammit! Aizawa had given him a second chance by allowing him to come, he wasn't about to waste this second chance. Kaminari slung Mineta over his shoulder and backed off as Midoriya approached the earth beast.

"One For All..." Midoriya began to glow. "Full Cowling!" The beast simply roared in response, somehow seemingly more angry.

"Finally!" Bakugo growled, a sadistic smile on his face, ready for battle. He'd been keeping his temper in check as much as he could, now he was ready to destroy any thing that dared to stand in his path.

Fearlessly charging the beast, Todoroki used his flash freeze to immobilize the huge beast. The monster struggled to move in a rage, to no avail.

"Reciproburst!" Iida shouted as his engines ignited with blue fire coming out. The fire burned his pant leg off, and gave a mighty kick to the monster's right arm. It shrieked as the targeted limb exploded gloriously and kicked mud everywhere.

Speaking of exploding, Bakugo was now currently flying at the earth beast's remaining left arm, explosions popping in his hand. He had an insane smile plastered on his face. "DIE!"

The explosion completely incinerated the final arm of the beast.

With both arms gone, it left it's head wide open for attack, and Midoriya took full advantage.

_**"SMASH!"**_

* * *

"So, he's fine then?"

Pixie nodded at Aizawa, who currently held a rather bored expression as he watched her from behind. She jabbed a thumb towards the forest. "Yes. He's able to keep going, but he seems to be out cold."

"So he's immobile for the time being?" Aizawa said as he took some eyedrops, watching as Pixie fiddled with her odd pair of goggles. "What do you have planned for him?"

"Well, he should be able to make it to the camp, if the other students pass my test." Pixie said while yawning. "If not, then he's out of luck."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "Test? I didn't know you had another test other than the forest beasts." _Actually, we discussed this way before today. She should notify me of these sudden changes if it's going to be a thing now. _"Is this something I should've been notified about earlier?"

Her back still to Aizawa, Pixie shrugged. "Weeeeelll... I actually came up with it a few minutes ago." She let out a chuckle. "I had to improvise on the situation, and it'll show whether they got spirits of heroes, or focus on self preservation."

Eyes slightly widened, Aizawa took a quick glance at the forest. "You're testing to see if they'll help Mineta?" He could see the logic in that, to see who will act more heroically, and to see who focused more on getting to the camp faster. He hummed thoughtfully, "Well, that is very interesting. I guess we'll find out who will be the hero."

Pixie focused on controlling her earth beasts, and saw that Kaminari holding Mineta over his shoulder as the other students charged the earth beast. "Well, it seems that that one electric kid seems to be rescuing Mineta. How noble!"

Whatever he was thinking about stopped when he heard Pixie's commentary on the situation. W_ait, electric boy?_ "He got blonde spiked hair?" A nod. "Kaminari. Hm." Out of all the kids that could of rescued Mineta, it was Kaminari? From recent events, it was clear that Kaminari and Mineta were not on good terms. Seeing this sudden change of heart, it was promising for the student who failed the practical.

Aizawa looked on with little to no interest at the smoke currently leaking out of the forest. Although his expression didn't change, he still felt a pang of pride in his chest. "Well then, I continue to count on you then, Pixie Bob."

Pixie Bob simply frowned thoughtfully. "Right. Leave it to me."

Truth be told, she had to deal with her fair share of suicides in the line of duty as a hero. It was part of her job. Most cases were adults with nothing left to live for, or just had given up on life. She had to get used to the sight of the bodies after impacting the cement street.

Children however, was something she could never get used to. Luckily for Mineta he didn't have any life threatening injuries. The boy only seemed to have a few bruises.

And the horror of watching one of the future heroes from Class A willingly jump off in what seemed to be an attempt on their own life had actually shaken her. She wasn't expecting for that to happen within the first five damn minutes of their camp shenanigans. Putting a paw to her forehead in slight stress, she focused on controlling her earth beasts. She'd ask Aizawa about the kid hurtling himself off the cliff later. She wanted answers.

* * *

Sato looked on in awe at Todoroki. "You guys defeated that beast in an instant?"

Sero joined in as well. "You guys did it!" Sero cried happily, pumping a fist. No wonder those guys were in the top strength wise, they were pretty damn strong! "That beast didn't stand a chance!"

The red haired boy who stood by Bakugo had a look of admiration on his face. "You're amazing, Bakugo!"

Bakugo ignored the praise, he seemed to be staring at something deeper into the forest. "Not yet." And he was correct, for the ground itself seemed to rise from the earth, twisting and shaping itself into the forms of beasts, dragons, and other creatures straight out of a fantasy tale. The monsters roared upon seeing them.

"Ah man," Kaminari said nervously. "How many are there?" The boy had lost count of how many beasts were forming from the earth.

"What should we do?" Mina said, sweat now visible on her pink skin. "Run away?"

Sato began to look around. "This is no joke. If we don't make it to the facility by noon, then we don't get lunch."

Yaoyorozu felt resolve at the seemingly hopeless situation. "Then we have no choice but to get through here and take the shortest route."

The other students nodded.

Iida held up a hand. "Alright. Let's go, Class A!"

"**Yeah!" **Then the students of Class A clashed against the forest beasts.

Shoji used one of his Dupli Arms to create an eye to search the area for more of the earth beasts. _Bingo._ "There are three up ahead! Two each on either side!" He warned.

Jirou had plugged an ear jack into a tree. "Seven in total!" She confirmed.

Sero swung across the trees using his tape, his "tape swinging" eerily similar to another super here. But he wouldn't tell you who if you asked him, though.

Using his agility, he quickly wrapped the earth dragon's wings up, effectively rendering it flightless.

"Sato! Kirishima!"

Quickly throwing a handful of sugar cubes in his mouth, Sato's muscle grew five times bigger, ripping through his shirt, and he charged.

Kirishima activated his hardening quirk, and began to pummel the dragon, while Sato landed a large uppercut on the beast, sending it flying back.

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami said, summoning his dark counterpart.  
_****"Got it!" ****_The dark creature evaded the earth cyclops beast's attacks, while Ojiro also helped in distracting it, leaving the monster open from behind.

"Aoyoma, now!"

The french boy had planted himself on top of a tall tree. "The finishing blow, right?" He sang as he blasted the cyclops with his laser. The light incinerating the beasts insides, causing the creature to finally die.

All in all, it definitely was more then three hours by the time they arrived at the camp. The entire day had been filled with fighting monsters, and someone having to carry poor Mineta, who still hadn't woken up after all this time, to Midoriya and other student's concern. While they engaged with the monsters, one designated student would hang out in the back while they carried the unconscious Mineta. They hoped (excluding Bakugo who couldn't care less) that Mineta would wake up soon.

* * *

**Hours later...**

One by one, each student from Class A exited the accursed forest, bruised, beaten, and panting. The bruising wasn't like the nasty ones like Mineta had from his fall, since Pixie wasn't exactly trying to slaughter the poor students. The Pussycats apologized for how long it took, since they assumed the students would have equal time to the Pussycats themselves.

Aizawa noticed the awful condition of his class, and a certain student caught his eye yet again.

A panting Midoirya was carrying a still unconscious Mineta over his shoulder, his movements slowed from exhaustion. They would just have to put him in the med room, and when Mineta woke up and was healed, Aizawa had several questions for the grape boy.

And Aizawa planned to get answers.

* * *

**Didn't change too much, as I said before my chapters were slowly improving, I couldn't really do too much. This is probably the chapter I'm least proud of, since the logic in it was kind of dumb in hindsight. But I have an explanation: I originally planned to change this chapter a lot more, a scenario where Mineta was brought to the hospital. But a major issue would be he being kept there for suicide watch, I highly doubt they'd let him go back, so the new canon for this chapter is the cliff is less steep than it originally was in the anime. So it's short enough to only have bruising if you fell halfway, so Mineta lives. If you think this was kind of a dumb chapter, I'd agree. Please bear with me though, I'm trying really hard on this story. Also headcanon that Pixie's Glasses or eyegear has a HUD and can scan stuff for injuries, since they are rescue based heroes after all. Well, if you enjoyed this rewrite, please Review/Follow/Fav! Cya!**


	14. Misunderstanding

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 14****

****Misunderstanding****

* * *

Pain. That's all Mineta felt when he slowly opened his eyes. That action proved to be a mistake however, when a blinding light pierced his retinas. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to block out the offending light. Groaning, he threw an arm over his already shut eyes out of reflex. Slowly taking the time to open his eyes and let his eyes adjust, he took a look at himself. He was lying on what Mineta guessed was a guest bed. He noticed a few cold compresses on his arms, one on his lower left leg, and one nicely settled on the top of his forehead. Other then the slight ease of pain thanks to the frozen pads on him, he still felt sore.

He groaned. Wasn't the pain supposed to at least be a bit more bearable? Or was it one of those situations where the pain would get worse the more it went on? Like having a stomach bug? He didn't have the faintest idea. Mineta certainly wasn't a medical expert, perhaps he'd ask Iida or Yaoyorozu for their second opinion. Although maybe that wouldn't get much out of them, they probably didn't know stuff like what a professional doctor would know.

He sat up, and looked around the room. Mineta knew immediately that this definitely wasn't a hospital, it looked more like a guest room, other than the rather cheap bed he was currently on. He was no home designer, but he thought it was pretty dull, not as dull as the white hospital rooms, but still pretty plain. No accounting for taste, this wasn't exactly an HQ sort of building, it was just a random building in the middle of a forest.

Well, save for Recovery Girl's room, something about it was very memorable. Probably her little Pez dispenser, didn't it have a little Kamui Wood head? He remembered getting a candy from her after he had to go to her after a rough day of training.

"Good to see you are up." A voice suddenly said, bringing Mineta out of his thoughts. He turned towards the direction where the voice came from. Pixie Bob looked at him dead in the eye, leaning against the wall with a _very _stern expression on her face. Her blue eyes pierced Mineta's.

Mineta sighed. He was definitely in for it now. _Well, at least it wasn't Aizawa. _Speaking of the tired eye teacher, where was he? Mineta tilted his head slightly. "Um, where is-"

"Aizawa?" Pixie finished for him. "He's somewhere else at the moment. You should probably head down to where you're friends are eating and join them. They're probably wondering if you're okay."

That last part of the sentence made Mineta raise an eyebrow. "But I am okay, right?" _I'm not feeling anything internal. I'm pretty sure I'd be able to feel internal bleeding._

Pixie stood up, no longer leaning against the wall. "I don't know, you tell me. After all, you decided to willingly throw yourself off a damn cliff, and because of that you had pretty nasty bruising, even after I managed to catch you halfway." The woman's tone had an unspoken message. _"Mind explaining yourself?"_

Mineta gulped. So it _was_ her who caught him. It explained how she knew how he got the bruising. "I...I uh..." He couldn't think of anything to answer her question. Well, nothing believable that is.

Noticing his lack of a response, Pixie Bob took that as a sign to continue her rant. "That could of killed you! I had to watch as you sprinted towards the cliff and jumped off. If I didn't see you, the fall would of definitely ended your life. What the hell were you thinking?" The blue Pussycat walked over beside the bed, her posture clearly showing strain, as if she was keeping in anger.

Mineta sighed as he absentmindedly scratched his neck. _How to explain this?_ "It's complicated." Mineta being able to time travel wasn't something he could explain under a ten minute time frame. And she'd probably think he was insane, which he didn't blame her for.

* * *

"It's complicated." was the only thing he said in response, which made Pixie's stern expression soften. _What had happened to this boy that made him feel like he had to take his own life? Family issues? Did something happen to him? Bullying? Did someone...?_

Pixie shook her head. _No._ She couldn't be having dark thoughts right now. Right now her only concern was helping this boy, who was clearly troubled. Perhaps being near his friends would lift his spirits. Well, maybe not that Bakugo kid. She'd keep a close eye on him, from what she'd seen so far, he was definitely bully material. Better to be safe than sorry.

Pixie sighed, she knew that the boy's mental health wasn't going to get anywhere at this rate. She'd have to try later. "Look. You're friends are eating in the lunch room, you should go join them." The Pro gestured towards the exit. "As long as you're good enough to go?"

Mineta started to twist his arms experimentally in response. "It hurts a little." His arm wasn't exactly covered in purple splotches, but he could see a bit of odd coloring.

Pixie walked over to the bed and crouched down, getting a good look at the arm. "Where does it hurt?"

"Here." Mineta said as he rubbed the top of his arm, the side with the back of his hand. "If I press down on my arm here, it hurts."

Pixie raised her eyebrows. "Well, I have a solution to that problem."

The grape haired boy raised his eyebrows. "Really?" He rubbed the back of his head. "What do I do?"

Pixie narrowed her eyes."Don't press on it."

Mineta's face was blank for roughly five seconds. Five whole seconds of Mineta just staring blankly. Until his mouth curved upwards. Mineta let out a loud laugh that sounded genuine, to Pixie's delight. He let out one more sharp chuckle, which descended into a few giggles. His body shook as he vocalized his amusement.

Pixie wasn't very well known for having a sharp tongue, because she didn't like to use it. As her costume was modeled after cats, The Pussycats were more liked by children, as the booming colors of the paws, ears, and outfits caught the eyes of the younger generation. Most kids loved animals, and Pixie wouldn't be popular in a positive tone if she was snarky or sarcastic. She had to be cheerful, bright, and energetic. Especially to keep up with those younger kids who never seemed to run out of energy.

Sure, they were no "All Might" type heroes that punched the bad guys away. But they specialized in rescue operations, and the kids they rescued usually would trust the Pussycats more than the other heroes. So she had to keep a friendly persona up for the public eye, and for the children. Besides, the kids they rescued would be more at ease if she was smiling and speaking in a soft tone. The kids usually would be distracted from whatever was happening, and smile back.

It's why she usually didn't have a snarky or sarcastic attitude usually, unless it was a rare time like now. She knew that trying the soft voice route would probably irritate Mineta. From what she'd heard from Aizawa, the boy had recently gotten more prickly over the past weeks. So having a smart ass attitude was a vain attempt to make the poor boy laugh, and it seemed to pay off, for once. The kid was smiling now, and it definitely was a real smile. She probably caught the kid off guard with with the smart ass comment, but he seemed amused enough.

Mineta giggled again. "R-Right." He let out one last chuckle, and exhaled softy. "I uh, I'll keep that in mind."

Well, there was one thing that Pixie never got tired of, and that was making the kids smile. Something about it, she always found it very rewarding. She simply smiled back. "Good to hear." But as she looked at the smiling kid, she inwardly cursed. The Pussycat desperately wanted to talk to Mineta about his...situation, but since he was in higher spirits now, she'd wait.

Mineta looked at the door after he experimentally moved again. "So, am I good to go?"

"You tell me," Pixie said simply. She looked at him once more with a raised eyebrow. "Do you think you're good to go?" She didn't want the boy acting like he was okay, especially just to get out of this room. Straining himself was the last thing she wanted him to do.

He moved again. "Well, I think I'll be alright for now." Mineta moved his legs a little under the blankets, and flexed his toes. The test didn't bring any pain, as his expression didn't change when he did it.

Pixie sighed. The kid was probably going to try to get out either way. "Alright, fine. Just don't over exert yourself, got it?"

The grape boy seemed to light up as she removed the cold compresses that had become lukewarm over time from his body heat. Mineta excitedly struggled out of bed, wincing at the pain, and made a beeline towards the door.

Pixie frowned at the boy as he winced in pain. "Are you sure you're alright?" The boy seemed to be breathing a bit harder, as if moving this much caused him great exhaustion.

She saw Mineta grit his teeth. "I'll live." His tone held a bit of agitation, which Pixie quickly picked up on.

"That didn't answer my question." Pixie stated.

Mineta quickly opened his mouth to say something, but held his tongue to Pixie's relief. Injured or not, insulting your teachers wasn't a very wise thing to do.

Eventually the boy sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'm still a bit sore. But I'm alright." He looked up at Pixie. "May I please go?"

"Alright," Pixie finally gave in. "But don't strain yourself."

The boy nodded and after putting on his shoes, he headed for the door. His walking seemed a bit strained, but Pixie would let it slide. The boy wanted to be with his friends, and especially after what happened he needed someone to talk to. But it wasn't over, not yet.

"Mineta."

He looked back in response to her calling his name.

"You're not off the hook yet though, me and Aizawa are going to have a talk with you. Soon."

Mineta swallowed, obviously nervous. "R-right." Mineta quickly exited the room.

Pixie sighed as Mineta left. Only two things were on her mind now; What was she going to do with him, and how did Aizawa not go crazy? Class A was a handful, Pixie certainly pitied Eraserhead.

* * *

Mineta felt like slapping himself, he almost raised his voice at a Pro Hero. A _Pro. Hero._ That would of definitely got him in serious trouble if he did that. Mineta knew he'd have to watch his tone, it was going to get him punishment if he didn't watch his mouth. She even raised an eyebrow when he opened his mouth, so she was expecting it as well. He'd been trying to be a better person, and now he almost messed it all up right there. Insulting his friends was bad enough, but a Pro Hero...

Well, he'd probably would not be in UA anymore if he did that.

After he finished with his inner conflict situation, Mineta turned and started heading down to the dining room. He roughly got 8 feet away from the door when a voice called to him.

"Hey."

Mineta jumped upon hearing the new voice. How many more people were going to just start talking when his back was turned to them? He turned and saw the red Pussycat standing at the end of the hall. It was Mandalay. She had a rather indifferent expression that was not unlike Tsuyu's. She looked at his slightly bruised limbs, a flash of concern in her eyes. "You feeling alright?"

Mineta gave a smile he knew was half assed. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He wasn't one hundred percent alright, but he was making it so far. So technically he was alright.

Mandalay's blank expression didn't change at all, which Mineta knew that meant she didn't really believe him.

The red clad Pussycat sighed. "I was there too you know. I didn't see you jump, but after we all fell for your distraction, I turn back around and hear Aizawa shout for you, and Pixie suddenly sprinting towards the edge of the cliff to look down at something. You jumped off the cliff." Her tone wasn't accusatory, but surprisingly soft.

But now Mineta knew that she was interested in the situation as well. Now he had 3 Pro Heroes breathing down his neck for answers. _What to say? _"Well, I...I wanted to..."

__Get a head start so I could get to camp first. But that seemed to have failed most spectacularly.__

* * *

"I wanted to..."

__Die?__

Mandalay's eyes went wide at the thought that entered her head. _Dammit, this was all sorts of messed up._ First day, and stuff was already happening. But with the way this Mineta kid was dodging questions, he obviously didn't want to talk about it. After this camp, she'd make sure to let Nezu know that Mineta needed a therapist. If Pixie hadn't talked to Mineta about it yet, she was going to.

"Look," Her voice was calm, but firm. "If you don't want to talk about it, fine. I can't actually make you talk." Forcing someone to talk, especially after a suicide attempt was definitely a bad idea. Mandalay had learned that the hard way, after innocent people screaming and yelling from the stress...she hated to see it.

The boy seemed to exhale in relief. "Thank you." His eyes shifted to the wall, avoiding eye contact. "I promise I will talk about it. I swear."

Mandalay felt a ghost of a smile on her lips."I'm glad Mineta, you can go eat with you're friends. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you."

Mineta smiled once more, and nodded. "Thank you Miss Mandalay."

As the kid walked off, she knew that he'd be fine. He seemed to be alright other than being a bit sore. Although, everyone was now aware of Mineta's stunt. The boy didn't seem to be planning anything, but the Pussycats would rather be safe than sorry. Mandalay and Pixie had made sure to ask Ragdoll to keep her eyes peeled for Mineta... in case he tried again.

* * *

"So good! Rice is so good!" Kirishima cried, borderline dumping the white rice from the bowl into his mouth. The only thing keeping the rice from falling to the floor was how Kirishima shoveled the rice in his mouth before gravity could take effect.

Kaminari was also destroying his bowl of white rice, though he wasn't tilting it to dump it in his mouth. "It's soaking into my internal organs! It's a match for Lunch Rush's cooking!"

Mineta smiled at his friends enthusiastic eating. It must have been a hard day for them, they certainly earned the free meal. They had been fighting earth beasts all day, while a certain someone had been conked out for the majority of it all. Scratch that, he was out for all of it.

__They did. All you did was throw yourself off a cliff trying to get a cheap head start.___ A _venomous voice in Mineta's head reminded him. Those bruises they had were from battling monsters, not from plummeting down a damn cliff. The guilt seemed to eat Mineta from the inside. He knew they probably didn't want to talk to him, and he didn't blame them. He stood and watched as his classmates wolfed down their food, knowing damn well that he didn't earn the right to eat.

Thankfully none of his classmates had taken notice to him, now would be the perfect time to make a subtle exit and go to bed. Mineta turned to leave, only to hear a voice call to him.

"Hey, Mineta!"

He turned and saw Midoriya waving him over. There was a spot open by the green haired boy, and he was beckoning him to come over there, most likely to sit by him since there was the open spot. Mineta was tempted to turn down the idea, but he knew that the boy was just trying to be nice. Even if Mineta knew he didn't deserve Midoriya's kindness, rejecting the boy's offer would probably upset him.

Well, Mineta didn't plan to eat, but he also did not want half of Class A at his door with torches and pitchforks because he made Midoriya feel sad. So he settled with accepting Midoriya's request, and plopped down next to him. "Thanks." Mineta winced at his own tone. _That probably didn't sound genuine._ Funnily enough, even though he had been out of commission for the entire day, he still managed to feel exhausted.

He also had noticed Bakugo's glare once he entered the dinner room earlier, so he decided to avoid eye contact now that he was in a closer proximity.

The next 30 seconds was probably the most awkward moment of his life, since he couldn't think of any way to start a conversation with the light hearted boy that sat by him. He didn't bother grabbing any of the food on the table either, as tantalizing as it looked. He had to remind himself of his failure each time he caught himself looking at the food.

"So, uh..." Midoriya began. Mineta turned to face him, making the boy shift uncomfortably. "How...how are you?"

Mineta resisted the strong urge to sigh, but it'd be disrespectful to Midoriya. The boy was just trying to cheer him up. Why should he take his frustrations out on someone who didn't deserve it? Mineta blinked as he looked at Midoriya. "I'm alright, thanks."

Midoriya's smile went down a little, but not completely dying. The boy had picked up on Mineta's dull tone. "I uh, I'm glad to hear! The Pussycats made food for us, wasn't that nice of them?" Midoriya said as he gestured to his own bowl of food. Some white rice and and chicken, but Mineta couldn't tell what flavoring it was.

His optimistic look on everything was definitely infectious, Mineta would give him that. But he was afraid it wouldn't be enough. "Yeah, you guys definitely deserve it, after the stuff you guys did, fighting those earth beasts and all of that."

Midoriya tilted his head. "Oh, they told you Pixie used her quirk to make beasts?" He seemed surprised at Mineta knowing what happened.

_Oh yeah._ Mineta cursed his loose tongue. He was conked out for the entirety of the forest battle, wasn't he? Midoriya had a very good point. How would he know about the beasts if Mineta technically didn't see any of the monsters at all. Mineta felt a cold feeling in his gut. He need to stop and think before he blurted out whatever was on his mind. "Y-yeah." Mineta said, thankful that Midoriya had assumed that someone had told him. If Midoriya had blatantly asked how he knew, the grape boy might of froze on the spot. He wouldn't have an answer for the question.

"Aren't you going to eat? Or did they bring you something up at the med room?" Midoriya said, his face becoming concerned at Mineta.

_Yeah right, like I deserved any of that._ "You guys got fed because you earned it Midoriya. I just was sleeping the entire time. I'll eat tomorrow. I can handle it."

Truth be told, he was lying. He was _starving_, and he was absolutely _parched_. He planned to just go to the men's restroom after everyone went to bed, and proceed to drink tap water from the sink for ten straight minutes, he was just so damn thirsty. And hungry.

Midoriya frowned at Mineta's refusal to eat. "You haven't eaten all day? Or drank anything? You need to eat Mineta, especially for tomorrow's training." His tone had concern, but also a sternness to it.

Mineta clenched his fist. Did Midoriya not understand that Class A had _earned _their meal? He knew that he didn't since he threw himself off a damn cliff in a foolhardy attempt to get a head start. _God, why don't ever think these things through? _"I don't deserve it Midoriya, all right?" Mineta gestured to the other kids wolfing down their meals. "You guys had to fight for hours, and I was out for all of it. I really haven't used much of my energy. I'll be fine."

The green haired boy glanced at his meal, his features were scrunched up. Mineta knew that expression from anywhere. _Frustration. _The boy looked up to say something, but went back to silently eating. It appeared the conversation was over, to Mineta's relief.

Well, he _thought_ it was over, but it seemed Mineta's luck had run out for the day.

"Dekoof rite!" Urarak said across the table, her voice muffled by the white rice currently shoved in her mouth. "Yull meeb yur stremf fer tomorrah!" It appeared that Uraraka had noticed Mineta and Midoriya's conversation and decided to join in.

Smiling at Uraraka's sudden assistance, Midoriya began talking again."Yeah! Besides, they probably won't be pleased if they heard you were starving yourself, you'd just get in more trouble for not taking care of yourself." Midoriya refrained from mentioning that Mineta was probably already in trouble for not taking care of himself earlier today, but he didn't want him feeling anymore down, seeing as he already was feeling bad enough.

And the other students wanted to know how Mineta's mental state was, and once they started asking questions, it was bound for disaster. And Midoriya wasn't looking forward to seeing how Mineta reacted to these questions, since he already was probably asked about it. No one else had noticed, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed Pixie Bob enter the dining room shortly after Mineta had walked in and begun looking around. Had the Pussycats spoken to him? Had Aizawa spoken to him as well? Eraserhead was obviously well known for his stern scoldings, completely merciless to whoever was unlucky enough to be scolded by him.

Staring at the food, Mineta didn't feel deserving. He had messed up big time on the first day at camp, and had angered all the teachers there, save for two others who he technically hadn't met yet. He also had probably caused the few classmates who cared about him a great amount of stress. At first he didn't want to admit it, but he was sort of glad he was going to be chewed out. He deserved it.

But Midoriya decided to pull him out of his thoughts. Mineta was acutely aware that a bowl of fresh white rice and a pair of chopsticks were currently being shoved in his face. "Eat Mineta! You'll need the energy!" Midoriya said cheerfully.

The sight of the steaming bowl of rice was tempting enough, but when that incredible scent hit his nostrils, Mineta felt his will begin to slowly break. "Uhhh... I uh..."

"And try the chicken! It's great!" Uraraka said.

Mineta remembered last time he had eaten the food last time he was here. It was the best damn thing he had eaten that week, and he remembered wanting to eat it again after he had a taste of his own attempt at cooking. __Screw it.__

He used the chopsticks to get a nice amount of white rice, the taste was just as incredible as it was last time. It really was as good as Lunch Rush. Danger was just around the corner, but Mineta decided to relax, to Midiroya and Uraraka's delight. Besides...

_That white rice was pretty damn good._

* * *

_**Added a longer scenes as this original chapter was a bit fast paced, which I didn't like. Hope you enjoyed the rewrite to this chapter! If you do, Please Review/Follow/Fav!**_


	15. Aizawa ain't buyin it

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 15****

****Aizawa ain't buyin' it.****

* * *

"Mineta."

It was all that needed to be said. It was cold, and commanding, making Mineta's blood turn to ice. His entire world seemed to almost freeze, time was nonexistent now. He dreaded this moment ever since last night. The owner of said voice was Aizawa, who currently was staring coldly into Mineta's eyes. Mineta felt like he was frozen stiff. The grape boy in question knew very well why he was called here. He swallowed nervously. The Pro Hero was now towering over him, the only thing visible were his eyes. He didn't know if they were red or not, it was still pretty dark outside, so it was hard to tell.

Because last night, before Mineta hopped into his sleeping bag, Aizawa stopped him. While everyone else was getting into their sleeping bags, Aizawa gripped his arm and told him to be out of the cabin an hour before everyone else woke up. The message was as clear as day. Aizawa, was _very _displeased. Or he was outraged. But since it was Aizawa, Mineta suspected it was a mix of both.

It was rather difficult to tell, since the only facial expressions Mineta had been exposed to that had showed emotion were as follows: Blank Face, Tired Look, Eyes Closed (since he's in his sleeping bag), Insane Smile, and the worst one had to be his red eyed glare when he used his quirk. Red eyes would glow, and his black hair would stand up, giving a very terrifying appearance in the dark. It would always make everyone in the vicinity extremely uncomfortable. Even scarier if you were a random villain in the alleyway running from the crime scene, and just so happened to bump into Eraserhead.

Mineta had been truly dreading this moment ever since the Pro Hero had stopped the boy before he went to sleep to inform him. After he'd made the stupid decision to throw himself off a cliff, he had known Aizawa had been watching him like a hawk. Well, both him and the other two colorful Pussycats had been keeping an eye on him ever since the plunge.

Were they worried? Scared for him? Angry? He figured it was probably all of them combined. Well, Aizawa was probably just angry. Since that and Tired Look were Aizawa's favorites. But the only thing that was mostly visible was Aizawa's eyes. It was an hour before all the other students would wake up, the sun yet to even show a hint of rising.

The Pro Hero eye's drilled into Mineta's, his bloodshot eyes piercing into Mineta's. The boy had never felt so anxious before. The way he was being glared at, it made the grape boy wish he had angered someone else, perhaps Iida. He'd take head chops from the over dramatic class rep than being judged by Aizawa, who was probably also tired along with angry, since it was pretty early in the morning.

"Y-yes sir?" The feeling Mineta currently had was not unlike the feeling he had when the villains had attacked the camp and the USJ. Aizawa could have such and unsettling appearance sometimes. And him standing in the night wasn't helping either.

"I expect you know why you're standing here an hour early?" Aizawa asked, his tone implying there was no room for BS.

Mineta knew he'd have to be careful. Aizawa's glare combined with his crossed arms didn't make Mineta feel any better about his predicament. __Straight to the point, then.__ He knew very well the events from yesterday were the main source of concern. He squeezed his eyes shut. "I...I..."

"Oi, Eraserhead!" A high pitched voice came from Mineta's left, catching the attention of both persons present. The voice revealed itself to be Pixie Bob, the blue Pussycat from yesterday, and the one who saved his hide from being splattered on the dirt after his idiotic stunt. Mineta silently thanked his lucky stars for the break, however long it lasted.

She was also followed by Mandalay, the red Pussycat. She politely greeted Aizawa as well, albeit a bit more calmly than Pixie. After the three Pros exchanged pleasantries, their attention was once again focused on the grape boy standing in front of them, still as a statue. All three of them seemed to be staring into his soul, with no words being said yet. Until Aizawa started talking again.

"Now, I'll ask again Mineta." The commanding voice once again was aimed towards him. "You know why you're here?" The grape boy nodded, although he did not answer again.

Pixie took a deep breath. "What I want to know is...Why?" Her voice had a very sad tone to it, as if it hurt to say it.

Mineta honestly hadn't been expecting a question like that. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. She would have to be more specific. Why what? He was half tempted to put a hand to his chin and ponder on it like how Tsuyu did, when she had something on her mind.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Pixie said. "You have your mother, don't you? There are people you can talk to about this. Depression isn't something you should have to handle by yourself."

Mineta felt his insides twist_.___ It's not that. I want to tell you. __"I-Im not depressed. I'm perfectly fine." Mineta said, then winced. __Wow, that really did sound half assed. A toddler could lie better.__

The looks on the adults faces informed him that they did in fact, not buy it. Who would? Why did he find himself stuttering? _Why am I so easily stressed now?_

Sighing, Pixie crouched down to eye level with Mineta, a small but understanding smile on her face. "Look, you can talk to us, okay? You don't have to do this." Pixie said with a stern but soft tone. She glanced over to Aizawa, then back to him. "I'm no counselor, but we can have someone take you back to UA and-".

Mineta's eyes went wide with panic. "NO!" he blurted out, waving his hands in a panicked matter. He realized the volume of his tone, and quickly shut his mouth. It didn't go unnoticed by the Pro Heroes.

_Dammit! Stop blurting stuff out!_

Aizawa's eyebrow raised at the suddenly rise of volume from Mineta. But he wouldn't budge. "Mineta, do you understand what you did? You attempted suicide. Do you know how serious that is? We cannot just brush this aside like it was an accident."  
The grape haired boy couldn't hold it in. "No, no! I just, I just wanted to get a head start!"

The blank look from Aizawa was a telltale sign that he didn't buy it. "I find that hard to believe. You didn't even cry for help, you just settled for staying quiet and continue to plummet towards the ground."

__No, no! I have to stay, I can't leave. But I can't tell them! Not yet at least. Gotta play this carefully.__

"I...I...okay! Look please, I don't want to go back yet!" He had to save them. He had to. What kind of hero would he be if he didn't? He clenched his fist in frustration. By trying to get a head start ahead of the villains, he just fu-...messed this up royally. He massaged his head with his hands.

Eraserhead shook his head, a blank expression still on his face. "You are in clear need of help, Mineta. We're not doing this to punish you."

Shifting uncomfortably. Mineta shook his head as well. "Look, I can't leave yet! I'll do whatever you want after the camp! I really want to stay! I'm sorry, alright?" Mineta folded his hands. He had to resort to begging. He couldn't leave. Not yet.

His pitiful begging seemed to have gained some sympathy from the Pussycats. The two cat heroes looked undecided. Pixie and Mandalay then stepped away from Aizawa and Mineta. The two began to whisper to each other, inaudible to Mineta and the tired Pro Hero standing in front of him. Even Aizawa looked unsure to what they were muttering about in their little huddle up.

For after what seemed like long minutes, they finally ceased in their whisper session, and waved Aizawa over. "We think we have an idea."

His nerves were so wracked that Mineta managed to sweat even in the semi chilly morning air. Aizawa's back was towards him now, he was almost invisible in the borderline pitch black of the very early morning. His costume blended very well in the dark. __Simple design, but very effective during the night. No wonder why he's such a good Pro Hero, even if he is underground. Without his eyes, I probably wouldn't have spotted him.__

Once again, Pro Heroes began to whisper, just far enough that Mineta was unable to hear them. With how dark it was, he didn't bother trying to read their lips. He'd probably only get half of the stuff if he really tried. Sighing, Mineta found himself pouting grumpily. How badly could he mess this up? He should of planned more. __I'm not All Might, that's for sure. He'd probably be able to fix everything with just punching someone or something.__

Best part was, since All Might was All Might, the fact he could just fix anything wasn't something people questioned. Because he's All Might. His thoughts were halted when the whispering died down, making Mineta very aware of the quiet night air and the crickets who chirped at a rather average volume.

The Pro Heroes turned to face Mineta, and he braced for his judgment. This couldn't get any worse, right? Well, probably they could since Aizawa was probably a sadist.

Aizawa had a blank look as he turned and faced Mineta. "Mineta. Do you want to stay at this camp? Do you want to continue your path to become a hero?"

Mineta nodded eagerly. "Yes sir, please! I'm sorry!"

"Then you can stay at this camp..."

"YES!" Mineta almost shouted. He was safe! He got to stay. He...

"...on some conditions."

_Eh? ___Conditions?__"What conditions?" Mineta didn't like the sound of that. Conditions was just another way of saying something had a catch. So he intended to figure out what was the "catch". He stared up at them with a blank expression, waiting for an answer.

After a rather pregnant pause, Aizawa continued. "After we are done with the summer camp, and we return to UA. You are to visit a therapist and speak with them each week. Even during summer vacation. We will contact your mother after this, and inform her of this. So no vacation trips for you. If you fail to comply, there will be...unforeseen consequences." His voice was sharp, and left no room for any argument.

Mineta shuddered. "Unforeseen consequences, like what?"

Aizawa leaned down to eye level with Mineta. "I'll leave that to your imagination."

__Shit, I honestly have no clue what he means... this was Aizawa!__

He wouldn't get to visit that water park he his mother promised to take him to, but he couldn't just wuss out now. "Alright, alright." Mineta finally gave in "I'll do it." He didn't want to, but he didn't have a choice anymore. Considering that tomorrow night, hell would be breaking loose. Besides, maybe Aizawa would forget about it!

He knew that last thought was just wishful thinking. Because when Aizawa said he'd do something, he meant it. Mineta didn't want to talk to anyone though. He was fine! But...no. Did he dare? Would he dare to?

Mineta felt a burning sensation in his stomach, he suspected the burning was probably dread. Mineta knew what he had to do. He would have to play along, he'd explain to Aizawa after the impending camp attack was halted. He found himself hesitantly nodding. "Yes. Alright, I'll see the therapist. As long as I can stay. I'm sorry."

Now he was having a staring contest with Aizawa, neither parties budging.

Finally, the underground Hero backed down, annoyed at Mineta's blank expression. "Very well. I don't suggest you go back to sleep, you have less then an hour." His tone was going back to his normal bored expression, which was a good sign. Mineta thought so, at least. "There will be another condition, but we will go into that later. You should probably get warmed up, sitting around waiting for everyone else won't do your muscles good."

__Yessir, sounds good. Gotcha.__

Mineta bowed, and began walking away. Only a few seconds passed, and the sound of a second pair of footsteps made him well aware someone was following him. He stopped in his tracks, and glanced to his side. The blue clad Pixie Bob stood by him, a worried expression clear on her face, even with the lack of light in the sky. "Mineta. You still did not answer my question. And before you ask, Aizawa didn't send me after you. I came because I wanted some answers."

Mineta frowned. __What was she going on about?__

"I asked why you jumped. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Pixie's question almost made Mineta snicker. Who would he tell? Right now, he was sure he was on bad terms with everyone in his class. Well, save Midoriya. How could you make that guy mad? "Who would care?" Mineta said. Then resisted the urge to slap himself when he realized what he just said. __Didn't I JUST make a mental note to think before I spoke? ___Saying that definitely isn't going to help._ He mentally cursed himself when he saw the way Pixie's eyes widened at his response.

"What do you mean? You're friends would care!" Pixie argued, her expression now that of complete worry.

Mineta sighed. _Well, I already dug my own grave, might as well speak my mind._ "Midoriya's the only one I think would care, to be honest." Mineta shot back. "You remember him right? Green haired kid. He's impossible to anger, unless you happened to be a villain attacking his friends."

Pixie nodded. He was one of the few boys who stuck out during the students fight against her earth beasts in the forests, right? She was keeping an eye on him, he was a fine young man. Strong and cool headed, and had cute little freckles. She was slightly disappointed that he wasn't 18. Pixie nodded. "Yes, he's a nice boy."

Mineta continued, "He's the only one who actually is still nice to me. I've been lashing out at my only other friend recently, and I've been feeling pretty terrible lately. I didn't have reason to be mean to the other people, but I still was." Mineta mentally slapped himself. _Was this turning into a therapy session?_

Pixie frowned at his response. "You should apologize to them." He wanted to, but he never got the chance yet. Since Monoma decided to jump in earlier yesterday before the students piled on the bus, he hadn't gotten the chance._ Damn that blondie._ "I've been wanting to," Mineta quickly said. "But I haven't gotten the chance." He knew that didn't sound like a good answer, and the fact Pixie's expression didn't change told him she didn't believe him.

His suspicions were confirmed when she huffed, probably in irritation at his lack of cooperation. "Just...do it today before or after training today, alright?"

Mineta nodded in response. He'd been wanting to do that. And he'd make sure to do it today. After a horrible experience yesterday, Mineta felt that he was getting back on track for the villain attack. Maybe he'd finally be able to figure out what he was going to do.

Maybe things wouldn't turn out so bad in the end.

* * *

**Wow, I didn't rewrite much of this chapter, without my editing I think it holds up pretty well on its own! Well, if you enjoyed please Review/Follow/Fav**


	16. Good Morning, Class A!

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 16****

****Good Morning, Class A!****

* * *

Class A was well awake early in the morning. Very, _very_ early. During their time spent at UA's school, the students learned the hard way that slacking off in Aizawa's class never ended in their favor. Aizawa was always one to quickly punish troublemakers, since he was always too tired to deal with their behavior. Although their heads throbbed, their legs ached, and some of them borderline could pass out while standing up, they still pushed through. They were Class A, and UA only expected the very best out of their students. So slacking off wasn't something they could afford to be doing.

Waking up was like they usually did, except as a group. Class A students were now not focused on working together, but more on getting ready as fast as they could. Both boys and girls scattering throughout their rooms in a rush to get ready for the day.

The girls were getting ready as fast as they could. Some more professional girls like Uraraka and Yaoyorozu were getting ready with warm ups and stretches, while some girls like Mina and Jirou desperately tried to make their frizzy hair look at least a little socially acceptable. The professional ones being a bit faster getting prepared then the ones concerned with appearance.

Meanwhile in the boys room, things were a bit more aggressive. The more scheduled boys of the room such as Iida and Midoriya were already up, fully clothed for the day, currently scrubbing at their teeth with their toothbrushes.

Bakugo was also there too, although scheduled wouldn't be the word for him. Perhaps "violently energetic"? He was currently scrubbing his teeth too, although he was screaming for the germs to "die". Though everyone was pretty sure the germs probably couldn't understand his war cries. His screaming also acted as an extra morning alarm to the few more slacking boys who tried to get a few extra minutes of shuteye. The lazy students desperate attempt for sleep gone as Bakugo's screaming was now piercing their sensitive eardrums, and forcing them to open their eyes and greet the new day. They grumbled and with much effort, made themselves sit up and start getting ready.

* * *

Kaminari stood up and stretched, groaning. He wasn't in the mood for this stuff, but he'd have to suffer through. He had nearly cried when he unfortunately failed against Nezu, and it still stung today. Hell, even Mineta had passed! Although, he had been feeling a lot less bitter about the whole situation, once Mineta had...attempted to take his own life yesterday morning. It explained why he was so bitter, and moody. And he was always by himself now, and isolating himself away from others as much as he could. He cursed under his breath. Yaoyorozu was right. It all made sense. He glanced towards Mineta's sleeping bag, intending to wake the boy. He'd probably feel like crap if he didn't wake the poor kid up.

But Mineta wasn't there. Kaminari frowned. He hadn't seen Mineta get up, and not getting into their uniforms like the other boys in their room. Only the 3 fastest students were currently brushing their teeth. The grape haired boy had seemingly vanished. Where would Mineta be right now? Kaminari knew that he didn't see Mineta go to the bathroom to brush, so it had to be something else. Why would Mineta sneak away from everyone?

__Did Mineta sneak off to?__

Kaminari's eyes went wide at the dark thought that his subconscious had planted into his mind. He tried to stomp down the rising feeling of panic that now started to rise in his chest. His heart began to beat faster. __He wouldn't try again!__

__Would he?__

Ignoring the panic currently bubbling in his stomach, he tried to casually speed walk towards the restrooms where Midoriya hopefully was still there brushing his teeth. He ignored the odd looks from his hurried classmates as he almost borderline ran to he bathroom. Kaminari thanked his lucky stars when he saw the green haired Class A favorite still mildly brushing his teeth, a bit of frothy saliva from the toothpaste stuck on the side of his mouth. If the situation was different he might of chuckled at the way Midoriya subtly inched away when the Bakugo's yelling somehow got louder.

"Midoriya!" Kaminari tried his best to not sound like he was in hysterics. In his defense, he only sounded mildly panicked. Well at least _he_ thought he did. Midoriya looked at him, and spat out the toothpaste saliva mixed fluid, and washed his mouth out, then turned to the boy. His smile almost blinded the poor blonde, his freshly brushed white teeth shined brightly. __Ow.__

The shine forcing Kaminari to cover his eyes temporarily, until thankfully Midoriya's smile went down.

"Hey Kaminari! Is something wrong?" Midoriya said, seeming to have caught on to the slight panic in Kaminari's tone.

"Have you seen Mineta? He's missing." Kaminari felt a bit better that he steadied his voice. Panicking wasn't going to help anyone.

Midoriya shook his head. "No, I haven't. But we shouldn't panic! When did you last see him?" The boy washed off his toothbrush and put it back in his plastic baggie, since his brush didn't have a container.

Kaminari made a mental note about how Midoriya's voice was so calm and stable. _How the devil did he do that so easily?_ Unless the situation was literally the worst case scenario, Midoriya was always calm and cool headed. A lot like Tsuyu actually. They both wore green costumes, and were usually the calm ones. Well Midoriya was definitely more of a heroic guy, not to say Tsuyu wasn't hero material or anything.

"I saw him get into his sleeping bag last night, and he just conked out without saying a word. But when we woke up, he wasn't in it. Did he sneak out or?" Kaminari didn't dare finish the implication, not knowing if the innocent boy standing in front of him would catch on or not.

The green haired boy swallowed, his small smile slowly dying. "M-Maybe he got up early?"

Midoriya's tone sounded a little too hopeful for Kaminari, his own face having a worried expression. "What if he might...he might..?"

His tone seemed to get through to Midoriya, as his green shining eyes widened as well. "We should search outside! But we should ask Aizawa first, we shouldn't panic."

Kaminari nodded. "R-Right!"

The two boys exited the bathroom and jogged past their classmates, ignoring the few warnings from their fellow friends about of how they looked "rather unready" or some telling them "don't rush".

They knew Aizawa would be definitely waiting outside of the cabins, standing menacingly as always, or curled up in his sleeping bag and glaring at them for being a minute early. With Aizawa, it felt like he could get mad at you for anything. But the two boys were ready to take whatever he dished out, just as long as they found out if Mineta was alright.

Slowing their jog to a brisk walking pace, they opened the doors to the outside, and were greeted by the very early sun. It was still a tad bit chilled, as it was pretty early in the morning. Kaminari felt the slightly chilled wind hit his face, and breathed in after shivering. _Nothing like fresh air._

As if he had read their minds, Aizawa indeed was standing right outside, most likely ready to make sure none of the students were trying to slack off. And to Kaminari's and Midoriya's relief, Mineta was standing right by him. The boy seemed to be speaking with Aizawa about something, must be important if he had to get up before everyone else. Kaminari exhaled, realizing he had been holding in his breath in anticipation. "Oh, h-hey Mineta!"

* * *

"H-hey Mineta!"

Mineta halted his conversation/scolding session he was having with Aizawa and turned to see a very unusual sight.

Standing in front of him was Midoriya with one of his eyelids was halfway shut, as if he wasn't one hundred percent awake. The combination of toothpaste and saliva made an odd froth come out of the side of his mouth, which he yet to wipe off from brushing earlier. Standing by Midoriya was Kaminari, who looked to be half asleep. The boy had some drool slightly on the bottom of his lip and chin, the sun reflecting off of it making it painfully obvious of it's presence on his face. His hair was also not as neatly spiked (if that was possible) as usual. One part was flattened on his head, thanks to him sleeping on one side during the night, and the top pointing forward for some reason. It was a rather amusing thing to see. Mineta didn't remember them being so awfully prepared though, did something happen?

Mineta tilted his head curiously. "Oh, hey Midoriya. Hey...Kaminari." Mineta was caught off guard at the electric boy's sudden friendliness. Wasn't he still mad at him for what he had said to him during the exams? And basically everything before that?

"Did you get up early? No one saw you when we all got up, we were wondering where you went!" Midoriya said, a curious expression on his face.

If the conversation with Aizawa and the Pussycats weren't still in Mineta's thoughts, he would of noticed the slightly concerned tone Midoriya had. The grape haired boy shuffled a bit uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah I..." Mineta frowned. What was he supposed to say? _"I w___as forced to wake up an hour early so Aizawa could slaughter me with words and now I'm going to therapy after this so yeah that happened, what's up with you Midoriya?" ___Mineta settled for giving a smile. _"Decided to get up early and warm up. I figured I could use the stretching and stuff. You guys getting here a bit early as well?"

Midoriya opened his mouth, but hesitated. What should his response be to Mineta's casual attitude? "__Oh sorry Mineta, we were worried you might of sneaked away to attempt to kill yourself again while everyone was asleep, my bad!" __He nodded, although a bit wonky due to being still drowsy. "Y-yeah. We don't look the best, but I'm ready! Right Kaminari?"

The blonde boy currently being addressed seemed to be in another world, staring at the ground with his face scrunched up. A jab at his side courtesy of Midoriya's elbow, seemed to snap him out of it. "Huh? What? Oh yeah! I'm ready teacher!" He didn't even sound like he was trying to hide the fact he had no idea what had just transpired for the past 30 seconds.

Aizawa didn't look convinced either, as he raised an eyebrow at Kaminari's bizarre behavior.

"Uh, right..." Mineta said, also promptly weirded out by the lack of effort Kaminari put into his lie.

It took a few awkward seconds, but Aizawa decided to break the ice. "As much as I love enthusiastic students as much as the next unfortunate teacher at UA, you're clearly not ready. Kaminari, go brush, I can tell you haven't cleaned your teeth. Midoriya, go finish getting ready. I don't know what you haven't done yet, but the frizzy hair tells me you haven't done something. Go do it, because it's bothering me and I'm not in the mood to be bothered. Because I am already bothered. So go. Now."

The two students looked befuddled for a quick second, which was a mistake in their part.

"**NOW." **Aizawa thundered, seemingly shaking the ground.

Spooked out of their trance, the two gave once last glance at Mineta, then scurried back inside to finish getting ready for their day of training.

Mineta still was slightly confused. _What was that all about?_

Almost as if he was reading his mind, Aizawa looked back at Mineta. "They were worried, you know."

Mineta looked up with a inquisitive look on his face. _What did he mean by that? _"What?"

"You do have people who care about you, Mineta. I don't know what got you to think that no one cared about your well being." Aizawa deadpanned. His "scolding" tone was slightly coming back.

Mineta took a few seconds to absorb the info. He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he put the pieces together. __They must of woken up, and didn't see me...so they assumed I went outside to...__

_Oh._

He understood what Aizawa meant now. He felt terrible that they were wasting their concern on him, as he was perfectly stable mentally. He began to feel really bad about lying to them about his situation, but knew he couldn't tell them. Perhaps once this was all over and everyone was safe, he'd tell them.

_Maybe._

Mineta blinked back up at Aizawa. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just was in thought." He had no idea what he was saying, because he honestly couldn't think of a response. He didn't want to keep egging on the lie that he was depressed and suicidal, and that he probably shouldn't be left alone by himself.

But now, a few minutes later as he noticed the other students slowly coming outside, yawning and stretching. Aizawa had something planned, he just didn't know what. He had already gotten scolded multiple times by his famous Pro Hero teacher, so whatever was about to happen...

Mineta was unprepared.

* * *

**Just like that, another rewrite done! This is rather beefy with paragraphs, so I tried separating them the best I could. Sorry if it's kind of short. If you like this stuff, please Review/Follow/Fav**


	17. Wild, Wild Pussycats! (Full Version)

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 17****

****Wild, Wild Pussycats! (Full Version)****

* * *

Mineta sighed as he absentmindedly drew little patterns in the soil. After Midoriya and Kaminari went back inside, the boy was now waiting for his classmates to join him. He wasn't really aware of what he drawing, he just let his subconscious guide his arm as the stick in his hand dragged along in the dirt.

The morning air was slowly getting warmer and warmer as the sun slowly rose more and more, turning from a bright red into an even brighter yellow. It's warm glow softly warming Mineta's tiny frame. The slight chill he felt began to dissipate, and felt warm.

Ignoring his skin rising in temperature, Mineta had begun to ponder once more. What he wanted to know was; what the hell was the scientific explanation for this? He had basically confirmed it was a second quirk, yeah, that was obvious. A weird power that no normal human should usually have? That's what a quirk basically was, right? But in this day and age, what was considered normal anyways? People didn't bat an eye anymore at people with huge disfigured heads, (Like a certain quiet classmate but he wasn't about to call him out, because the kid deserved better) or with multiple body parts.

But time travel? _Freaking __time travel_. How did that work? Most time travel movies he watched were ancient films, before the first quirk was even discovered. The few remaining films that haven't been lost to time were usually the average ones where they used a device to go back into time, then accidentally changed their past. Usually they then had to undo their mistake, or change it to a similar future that was very close to their original present. What was that one called? The Future is Back? But they always _t___raveled __in time, not where they would wake up back in time a few weeks ago after they had died.

He mentally slapped himself for forgetting, he still had yet to ask Midoriya when he felt he was able to. There were so many people he needed to talk to, but he kept forgetting to. He had to work on his problem with his memory.

Speaking of his friends, after his encounter with Midoriya and Kaminari, Mineta somehow managed to feel even worse then before. His face scrunched up as he remembered Aizawa's words. How some people cared about him, right? But that just reminded him of the sick lie he was feeding his friends, his guilt increasing even more. What he wanted to know was why Kaminari was being friendly towards him now. Did Midoriya manage to convince the electric boy to stop being spiteful? If he did, and if Mineta was there, he would of told Midoriya to stop. Kaminari had every right to still be angry, after what Mineta said to him before. Although he was nervous about speaking to his friend, he knew he had to man up. He wasn't about to disappoint Iida. He remembered very well of the promise he gave him when he had spoken to his bespectacled friend. Mineta knew he didn't mean to lie, but after he stopped denying the suicide accusations, he felt he might as well be. It was lying from a technical standpoint.

Hearing multiple pairs of shoes smacking and scraping against the soil, Mineta looked up and saw the students of Class A. They finally had their uniforms on, and jogged over where Aizawa stood with an indifferent expression on his face. Mineta was also plopped down near him. As the class grouped up into a ball of students, Aizawa walked away from Mineta and in front of the class. Mineta hesitantly walked over to join his classmates.

"Good morning Class A, and what a grand morning it is." Aizawa greeted his class, sarcasm clear in his tone. The future hero students were now at attention. Well most of them, some of them were still waking up, drool coming out of their slightly open mouths. "Today we will begin to train your quirks to their very limits."

The students nodded. It sounded like normal stuff. But this was Aizawa, and his seemingly normal plans for today gave them a sense of unease. Eraserhead was up to something, but no one knew what. That was one of the worst parts of having Aizawa as a teacher; his unpredictability.

When it came to activites, Mineta figured the underground Pro might as well bring a wheel to class each day. That would make a great show. "Wheel Of Fortune: Aizawa Edition". Mineta would spin the wheel, and whatever it would land on, would be the class activity for today! _How fun!_

But Mineta knew that this was Aizawa's class, so shortly after Mineta spun the wheel he'd realize with horror that all the options on the wheel were actually question marks. And after it stopped spinning, Aizawa would give his horrifying trademark smile, and probably says something like "Excellent choice!" And then the teacher would proceed to do whatever he had planned to in the first place, before anyone could get another word out.

_Speaking of plans..._ Mineta realized that he was about to find out what Aizawa had planned.

"But before we start, we're going to need a volunteer for the rest of day." Aizawa said, his expression still blank as ever. Perhaps if it was day one, Class A would be nervously murmuring about how vague Aizawa was. But now they learned very well to keep their mouths shut, stand at attention, and wait for the teacher's instruction. Aizawa continued, "As some of you know, a certain child has become a problem. It appears Mineta has the unfortunate habit for getting himself hurt."

All thoughts in Mineta's head came to a screeching halt. He swallowed nervously, absentmindedly noting how the air seemed to be freezing now. His spine tensed up, and he felt paralyzed. The students standing near him also seemed to stop moving. Mineta felt several pairs of eyes burning into back of his head. It felt like blood went ice cold. _Where was Aizawa going with this?_ He risked a glance at his teacher.

Aizawa's eyes were pointed right back at him.

__Oh no.__

Breaking his stare with Mineta, the deathly calm teacher turned back towards the class and exhaled calmly. "And some of you noticed that he is especially good in his profession when no one is _watching_ him."

Mineta began to breathe a tad bit quicker. He tried to steady his breath. He was terrified at wherever Aizawa was going with this. __Don't tell me he's going to...__

"So, I'm afraid to inform you we are going to need a volunteer to keep an eye on Mineta at all times during our time training today."

Mineta's hands curled into fists. He cursed his luck and resisted the urge to punch the ground. _Shit._

"Come now, don't be shy." No one said anything. Most of the students seemed to be looking away from Aizawa's eyes. Aizawa glared at the immobile students. "In other words, if we do not get a volunteer, I will personally choose someone myself. And my choice will be final."

Mineta wanted to just melt into a little puddle, and simply vanish. It would be a lot more preferable to what was currently happening at the moment. He felt responsible for this. It was painfully obvious that no one would want to babysit him, it's not like anyone had a reason to like him. Especially after recent events, it was clear that Mineta was not the popular one. At least not popular in a positive note.

No one spoke a word, and Mineta didn't blame them. Yesterday had been rather hectic at the beginning thanks to him, and he was still on some peoples bad sides. If no one wanted to do this, he wouldn't hold it against them. He'd just hope that whoever Aizawa called on wouldn't call a grudge after today.

It was just silence for what felt like very long minutes, but it was actually roughly 30 seconds of the class awkwardly shuffling, some of them kicked a pebble or two.

Midoriya, being the angel he is, moved forward and began to speak. "I-"

"I volunteer." A voice cut the green haired boy off. The students turned to the voice and saw the owner of said voice standing with an indifferent expression.

Even Aizawa looked surprised at the student who was raising their hand. After a few seconds of him raising an eyebrow, he exhaled. "Hm. Very well, thank you Kaminari."

__Kaminari? __Mineta's head whipped over in the direction of his friend. __What were the odds? Why him? What the hell does fate have against me? I'm just a defenseless little boy. Why does it have to bash me in the head whenever I'm slightly thinking in a positive manner?__

"Mineta." Aizawa said. "Go join Kaminari." Mineta's face however clearly implied he'd rather do anything else. Aizawa's eye's widened into a glare. **"I SAID-"**

"Yessir!" Mineta's squeaking cut his teacher off. __Wow, that is terrifying.__He scurried over to Kaminari, although a tad bit reluctantly. Well, as reluctantly as someone could run if they fled in terror. Mineta purposely avoided eye contact with Kaminari, who either didn't notice his behavior, or decided to ignore it. If there were crickets, it felt they should be chirping any second right now. Mineta felt it would be less awkward.

The wind blew softly, slightly lifting Aizawa's hair as he finally ceased from glaring at the poor grape boy. "Now that's over with, let's begin. You're training may feel like hell, but it's just training. I trust you will be able to prevail and push on. But first..."

Aizawa's line of sight seemed to face somewhere behind his class. "Please welcome our helpers for today, they will help you with training."

Mineta didn't even bother to turn, for he knew already who was standing behind them.

_Hey, did someone say ___deja vu? __Mineta thought as new voices joined the group of students.

"That's right! The four of us are one!"

"Lock on with these sparkling gazes!"

"We've come to lend a paw and help!"

"COMING OUT OF NOWHERE..."

"Stingingly cute and catlike!"

"Wild, Wild..."

"PUSSYCATS!"

This time, Mineta actually restrained himself from mocking their pose and their catchphrase like last time. He felt the need to pat himself on the back for that. __Feeling proud of myself because I didn't mock someone. That's probably a bad sign.__

"**Full Version!"**

Mineta frowned. He thought hard, and a smile formed on his face. _Full version, huh?_ _So yesterday when it was just Mandalay and Pixie, did that mean it was the Wild, Wild Pussycats: 50% Version?_ Mineta once more found himself holding his tongue from saying something witty. Though he did giggle a bit from the smartass quip he refrained from saying. Perhaps he'd be a witty hero as well, wasn't there an old fiction superhero who quipped all the time to make his enemies really mad? Perhaps he'd try that. Though the thought of him telling a villain that they looked dumb, only for the villain to throw a car on him wasn't a pleasant idea. He'd think about it another time. His attention was then focused on the Pussycats as they began to introduce themselves like the first time.

"My name is Ragdoll, and my quirk is Search!" The green haired Pussycat said, her bright yellow clothing sticking out a bit more as the sun rose more and more each second. "I can know the info of up to 100 people just by looking at them! I can find out their location, and weakness too!"

Pixie Bob's smile grew as it was her turn to shine. "You know me as Pixie! My Earthflow quirk can create perfect places for people to train!"

Mandalay straightened her back just a little. "With my telepath quirk, I can give multiple people advice at once!"

The towering form of Tiger glared at the students, making some of the poor kids nervous.

"My job is assault through punching and kicking..."

The student's expressions definitely implied that they had questions about Tiger's way of um, display. Mineta couldn't argue with that thought. _Cats were supposed to be cute and cuddly!_ _Well, the first 3 were definitely cute. Probably cuddly too._

Although he wasn't 100% sure on Ragdoll. Don't get Mineta wrong, he knew Ragdoll was cute as a button for sure. But, he shivered at the idea of being a villain. Running away in a dark alley, only to turn and see those huge beady eyes in the dark. Mineta shuddered. _Eugh, I'd rather not imagine that._

"Now." Aizawa said. "Let us begin your training."

* * *

As Pixie began to create hills and cliffs for the students to train on, the students went to their designated training area, although a certain grape boy hesitated before following Kaminari to their spot.

As he watched the new problem child waltz off to do whatever his training was, Aizawa took this time to walk over to the big eyed Pussycat. "Ragdoll," Aizawa greeted the yellow Pussycat.

She smiled. "Heya Aizawa!"

Her cheerful tone would be infectious, if this wasn't Aizawa standing before her. He glanced towards the other students, "I hope the other Pussycats has informed you of our Mineta situation?" he said simply.

Ragdoll's wide grin shrank into a somber frown. "Yes. It's horrible what happened yesterday, It's awful to think what that poor child went through." Ragdoll said sadly. It was a haunting thought to see an attempted suicide. At least the other student's backs were turned.

Aizawa licked his chapped lips absentmindedly. "Then, can you keep a close eye on the kid? I know I have someone watching over him, but we can never be too careful nowadays."

Ragdoll's returning smile and her enthusiastic nod told Aizawa well enough. Mineta would be kept under close watch for the rest of this camping trip. Aizawa would make damn sure of that.

* * *

**Although I like these certain chapters for higher quality before I rewrote them, It's only roughly 4 pages although it lookds pretty good. Well, can't really do anything. If you like this, please Review/Follow/Fav!**


	18. Friendly Interactions And Anxiety

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 18****

****Friendly Interactions And Anxiety****

* * *

As Class A spread out to begin their training, Mineta reluctantly began to trail after Kaminari to their secluded spot to train. It was an awkward walk, not many words were said. After Aizawa had dismissed the class, Mineta just followed after Kaminari, not daring to speak a word.

Kaminari reluctantly approached the generator in front of him at their training spot. He was told he was supposed to be shocking the device so he may increase his voltage or whatever. He didn't look forward to being an idiot for a while, because the volts he was about to produce would fry his slightly intelligent part of his brain.

_Sounded fun._

Well, at least he'd be improving his quirk. Well, that's what Aizawa said to him when he inquired about the strange exercise he was about to do. Maybe he'd be able to shock a ton without turning into a total dolt. Maybe. Mineta was in his line of sight, but thankfully far away enough that he wouldn't be fried into a crisp by his quirk. He glanced at the machine, and put his hands on it. __Here goes...__

"Hey...Kaminari?"

A voice made Kaminari halt. He looked at Mineta who was looking at him with an indifferent expression. It wasn't a hostile look, but it wasn't very friendly either. Kaminari softened his expression. __At least he's talking to me. __"Yeah Mineta? What's up?"

The way Mineta's eyes widened and how he started to rub the back of his head told Kaminari that Mineta definitely didn't expect such a normal response. He didn't blame him, since the tensions after that one day in class had been relatively high since.

"I'm sorry."

Whatever he was going to say, Kaminari completely forgot. He hadn't been expecting _that _from Mineta. From what he had seen so far, he was pretty sure the grape boy was trying to close himself off from everyone. But this seemed to be a step in the right direction. Still, he'd have to tread carefully. "For what?"

"For how I've been recently. I shouldn't of acted that way towards you and Mina." Mineta said, hesitation clear in his voice. "I haven't really been myself, huh?" His voice was lowered now, and full of guilt.

"Look, Mineta. It's alright." Kaminari finally said, not wanting to make Mineta feel anymore guilty. "But you have seemed a little off since the day Aizawa announced the exams. I just didn't know it was for a reason."

Kaminari noticed how Mineta's eyes immediately pointed towards the ground when he said "reason". __Probably touched a nerve... __Kaminari thought nervously.

Quickly trying to repair the damage he has supposedly caused, Kaminari put his hands up. "But, I'm glad you're apologizing! It means you're comfortable enough to talk to people, right? That's a step in the right direction. I won't push you for answers man. Take your time. Just..." Kaminari sighed. "Just talk to us more, alright?"

Mineta nodded. "Yeah...Th-thanks Kaminari."

He sounded genuine, which helped lift Kaminari's spirits a bit more. He simply smiled. "Alright, I'm gonna start this awful training thing for my quirk, you should probably stand just a few more feet back. just in case. The training could actually work and my shock radius increases or something. Don't want you getting shocked man." He said with a slight grin on his face. Was he already sweating? Either it was from the sun, or he was so nervous about the fact he could be possibly frying himself from the training exercise.

Before turning back to the machine, he took note of Mineta getting on his knees and begin to pull grapes off of his head, and began to stack them very neatly into a pile that resembled a pyramid. Iida would of loved to see something like that. _Organized stuff was probably in "Iida's Top 10 Things He Loved" or something._

Hesitantly putting his hands on the device once more, he felt the slightly cool metal on the machine. It would slowly warm up as the day went by, so he hope he didn't have to train that long. Touching metal after it's spent a long day in the sun, eugh. Kaminari would rather shake hands with Torodoki with his left hand. __Well, no use in delaying the inevitable.__Bracing himself, he took a deep breath, and began to charge volts through his body.

__Here goes nothing...__

* * *

As he trained, Midoriya noticed from the corner of his eyes that there was a concerning lack of movement or activity from Kaminari's training spot. Had something happened? It didn't look like anything was happening, actually. There was a surprisingly lack of activity up there. Wasn't his friend supposed to exercise his quirk by creating huge shock waves or something? And wasn't Mineta supposed to be there as well? He remembered very well that Aizawa had assigned Mineta to be watched over by Kaminari, since the electric boy had decided to volunteer, which honestly took him by complete surprise.

But he was glad Kaminari had volunteered though, maybe Mineta would open up, right? Still, he had to take a quick look to talk to them. After getting Aizawa's blessing after he explained to the Pro Hero why he was leaving his training spot, Midoriya lightly jogged over to the small hill. As he approached the area, he heard some voices.

_"___I'm sorry, Kaminari."__

Midoriya halted his advance up to the small platform where Kaminari and Mineta were supposedly standing on. __That sounded like Mineta... was he finally apologizing?__

His curiosity held him fast, and he didn't dare to move a single inch more.

Midoriya strained to hear the conversation continue, as he heard Mineta explain himself. He was happy to hear Mineta finally apologizing for his behavior, don't get him wrong. But what got Midoriya's nerves so wracked was waiting for Kaminari to respond. __Would he forgive him? He volunteered to watch over Mineta, right? What if something happens?__

_"___Look, it's alright Mineta.___"_

His tense muscles relaxed, and Midoriya smiled. Perhaps today wasn't going to be so bad after all. Hearing them finally talk and apologize was the best thing that probably happened today. Walking back to his spot, he gave Aizawa a thumbs up, which Aizawa just responded with a nod. He didn't seem to notice Aizawa's raised eyebrow at the fact Midoriya had his blinding smile again.

As Midoriya walked away, Aizawa took this time to put some more eye drops in. Looking at Midoriya while he had his huge smile plastered on his face... it was kind of like looking into floodlights at point blank. Even in broad daylight that smile seemed to blind anyone foolish enough to look at him.

As he walked back to his spot, Midoriya couldn't explain why, but he felt significantly more confident as he began to train one more. He was going to try his best! And who knows, maybe Mineta would open up more to them when they ate their meal later today. If they were allowed to have dinner, that is. Knowing Aizawa, they'd have to earn their meal.

* * *

The entire Class B stared in horror at what Class A was currently going through. They had been woken up at a decent time by their teacher, Vlad King, who informed him of that it was time to train. Even though half of them were half asleep, and borderline falling to the ground. As they walked towards the training area, Vlad King explained that they had to train or something. It seemed pretty normal stuff, along with the rivalry between A and B. Only when they actually arrived, they saw the true horror of the training.

What Aizawa called "training" seemed to be more like a living hell. Half of Class A was shrieking or groaning in pain as they were putting their quirks to the very max. The students who's quirks made a specific object or creating something were scene pumping out their specific object. Mineta was ripping off multiple of his grapes and piling them neatly as they stuck together, it almost looked like a pyramid. Blood was dripping from his head, but his expression was that of determination.

Yaoyorozu was shoving food into her mouth, as her quirk required her to eat to create objects. The stuff she created currently was stacked on to the table she stood next to.

Sato stood by her, using the same table to eat cake. He didn't create anything, but he still needed sugary foods as well to increase his strength. He also needed to be simultaneously lifting weights to counter the ungodly amount of calories from the sugary cake he was devouring. Mina, Sero, Bakugo, Aoyama, and Todoroki were all forced to continuously produce their quirk the entire time. Most of them were either screaming, making pitiful whimpers, or borderline crying from the pain.

****BOOM****

"SHIT!"

Well, save Bakugo. He just cursed every time he let off an explosion. Screaming or crying was "for weak sidekicks who can't handle the pain" or something like that.

And Todoroki actually didn't make any sounds of pain, just panted heavily as he let off ice and fire over and over again, the air in his general vicinity rapidly changing temperature each time he switched to the other quirk.

Literal hell indeed.

"How do they keep track of 40 students?" Class B student Kendo said as her classmates watched Class A suffer as they trained their quirks. She realized once combined with class A they'd have 40 in total. Seems like a lot for the small amount of teachers.

Aizawa walked towards them, completely ignoring Bakugo's massive explosion and the cursing that followed shortly after.

"That's why they're here."

On cue, Ragdoll suddenly seemed to have materialized in front of Aizawa, and she did her intro with the other Pussycats introducing the "Wild Wild Pussycats: Full Version" just like they did with Class A. Once more they introduced themselves and their quirks, and how their quirks worked. Tiger was still pretty scary with his eyes that seemed to almost glow red. Ragdoll's smile seemed to be even bigger then it was earlier, if that was possible. Although the red glow from Tiger was a bit less scary since the sun was completely out, it's cheerful rays bathing everyone in glow.

As Midoriya began to face off against Tiger (And get his ass handed to him), Class B knew that today was probably not going to be an easy, or a pleasant day.

* * *

Both Class A and B were completely spent from their training that day. The sun was beginning to go down, as the blue sky was becoming a dull orange. What awaited them... was something they didn't want to see.

Instead of the doors open for them to go to the dining hall, multiple wooden tables were neatly set up outside, and multiple unlit fireplaces. Most likely to cook something. One of the larger tables sat a huge amount of food supplies, including fruits, vegetables, and meats. Spices also accompanied the package, while two figures stood behind the table.

Pixie and Ragdoll were standing there, with huge smiles plastered on their faces. Their grins seemed deceiving, as their grins promised something that wasn't free food.

The blue clad Pussycat gestured to the humongous table of food supplies. "Now! Remember what I said yesterday? We're not making you guys food anymore!"

"If you guys want to eat, you could at least make your own meals!" Ragdoll chimed in. "Curry!"

The exhausted students of Class A and B all sighed in. "Yes ma'am..." the students said simultaneously.

Their lack of energy elicited loud laughter from Ragdoll. She hopped around in amusement. "You guys look _sooo _exhausted! But that doesn't mean you can just make any old sloppy cat food!" Tears of amusement seemed to be threatening to leak from her eyes.

Was the suffering of children that amusing to her? Mineta blew a raspberry at Ragdoll's overenthusiastic attitude towards the students having to cook themselves meals. It wasn't _that _funny. Mineta was pretty sure some blood was still dropping down from his head, that exercise was still _awful._

He prepared himself for a sudden raise in volume, because just like last time, Iida seemed to brighten up a little. He had his hand on his chin, deep in thought.

__Inspirational speech in 3, 2, 1...__

Iida suddenly lit up like a lightbulb. "I see! It's true that rescuing someone is part of filling the stomachs and spirits of those exhausted during a disaster! That's UA for you! No opportunity wasted!" He turned to the exhausted swarm of students, who all still looked pretty deflated. "Everyone! Let's make the most delicious curry in the world everyone!"

"Okay..." the students said in probably the world's most unenthusiastic way. They were all clearly still exhausted from the training session, but had no choice if they wanted to eat.

Mineta saw Aizawa's blank expression at Iida's actions, but he knew the Pro Hero probably was probably very appreciative of Iida gathering the classes to work together.

* * *

_**"**_**_**Thanks for the food!"**_**

Mineta watched in mild amusement as Kirishima and Sero started to shovel food into their mouths once more, although a bit messier since the food was made by their own hand. They still seemed to love it, although not as much as the Pussycat's cooking. _At ___least Kirishima's not dumping the bowl sideways to get more food into his mouth. __Mineta thought. How did the red head keep the rice in the bowl yesterday anyways?

"Man, training was awful!" Kaminari said from Mineta's right. Mineta had placed himself at the end of the table, and Kaminari and Mina sat by him. They were shoveling food into their mouths as well, but not as violently as some other students such as Kaminari, Sero, and Bakugo. Although Bakugo was just shoveling because he was angry because he blew up one of the fireplaces in front of everyone. Pretty embarrassing stuff.

"At least you didn't stay a dolt as long as last time!" Mina said cheerfully, she also was eating her meal at a sociably acceptable rate. Her voice was still muffled, as she spoke with her mouth full, so it sounded more like "At weast you bibn't spay a bolt af wong af wast tiem!"

Kaminari still understood it though. "Yeah..." His face was slightly red now, still embarrassed from turning into an idiot from overusing his quirk. Before they ate, Mineta hesitantly apologized to Mina. The pink girl had taken it surprisingly well. She told him it was alright, and gave him a little head pat.

_Nothing seemed to bother that girl for long, that's for sure._

"Mina does have a point though," Mineta spoke up. "The time you stay stupid has shrunken at an exponential rate ."

__Exponential. Damn that's a fancy word. I should use it more often.__

Mina also picked up on the unusual wording, and almost spat out her food. She turned to him, giggling. "Exponential rate? What's with this new vocabulary?" She had a smile on her face.

He shrugged innocently. "Sounded smart."

"You've been spending too much time around Iida, cuz I think he's starting to rub off on you." Her grin seemed to be twice as large now.

The grape haired boy put his hands up in defense. "Hey, nothing wrong with using fancy words. Makes me sound intelligent, and sophisticated."

Mina giggled. "Sophisticated? It makes you sound like a dork, and that's Midoriya's job. Bless his innocent little heart though."

Mineta glanced at an empty spot at Mina's mention of Midoriya. The green haired boy had a free spot open on the opposite side of the table. The spot happened to be right by Uraraka, coincidentally. Midoriya had yet to be seen though. It seemed as he was still getting his food, although he was taking longer than Mina and Kaminari expected. Last time he was here, he sat at a completely different area on the table.

Kaminari played with the food in his bowl with his chopstick. "Still, Aizawa's training hopefully accomplished its purpose. Other than y'know, not being an idiot for too long, I hope my voltage goes up! It'll make me stronger, and the more villains I can one hit!"

Mina put down her spoon and absentmindedly rubbed at her hands. "Yeah...still using my acid for so long hurt pretty bad, especially when I had to control how corrosive it was. My hands were hurting for so long. I really hope it won't hurt as much when I finally get it to it's highest potential." Her slight frown turned into a smile once more. " I probably won't master it by the end of the camp though!" Mina said as she continued to eat her meal.

Mineta raised both eyebrows at her upbeat tone. "You sound pretty cheerful about that Mina." He said, then slammed a hand over his mouth. "Uh, sorry! That was kind of a mean thing-"

"Boem'p wowwy 'boub it!" Mina said, mouth full of food once more.

Mineta was pretty sure she said "Don't worry about it" but he couldn't be sure. "Uh, really? Because I shouldn't of said that."

"I know I have a lot to improve." Mina said, a bit more solemn now. Her beaming smile seemed to have receded a bit. "The exams taught me that. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself for a while..."

"Until!" Kaminari butted in."Midoriya gave us a little talk a few days after the exam. He said that nobody was perfect, it's what makes us human!"

Mina's smile seemed to have returned a bit as well. "Yeah! He said that we would be great heroes! We should never give up! We just have to keep trying!"

Mineta had a small smile as well. "Did he say Plus Ultra too?"

"_**He did!" **_Mina and Kaminari exclaimed simultaneously.

Mineta wasn't surprised at that. Midoriya was an innocent one, and would always try to mend anything bad that happened to his classmates. It was obvious Midoriya cared very deeply for the well being of his classmates, that was for sure.

"Speaking of Midoriya," Mina said, looking around the area with a curious expression. "Where is our broccoli boy? Haven't seen him yet." Her mouth was full of food once more, so in reality...

"Were if are broggowi boi? Habmp feem him yet."

Mineta shrugged. "Beats me, I saved him a spot by Uraraka, he hasn't shown his face at all." He said, glancing at the empty spot.

Kaminari looked at him with a slightly surprised look on his face. "You actually understood that Mineta? That was a tough one to decipher!" Kaminari said, ignoring the glare Mina gave him.

Mineta nodded. "Lucky guess." He felt a little guilty for lying, he knew very well Midoriya had wandered off after Koda. Mineta remembered last time how Kota just trotted off, obviously angry at something. The green haired boy had chased after him, with some food in his hands. When he returned, the food was gone. It was obvious that Midoriya had selflessly given the food to the kid, even though Midoriya most likely needed it more.

It was pretty awkward now. No topics came to mind to discuss, so the three students sat and ate in silence. The only sound to keep their minds occupied was the idle chatter of the other students that sat around them. They idly heard Sero make an unintentionally mean comment about Yaoyorozu's quirk which resulted in Jirou giving him a good slap in the face.

After some time, Midoriya returned, although most of the people were already finishing up. Uraraka however seemed to have taken her time with eating, which was odd to Mineta. She usually didn't eat _that _slow, did she?

Only it was when Midoriya returned, that Mineta put two and two together, for the way Uraraka's face lit up when Midoriya plopped down by her, a new bowl of curry for himself. Midoriya also seemed to light up as well when Uraraka greeted him enthusiastically. He seemed to enjoy her presence just as much as she liked his.

Mineta shrugged at the obvious future couple. He wouldn't judge him. __Ah. I don't blame him. Every man needs his waifu, or there's no point to his laifu. __He held in a giggle at that thought. Where did that come from?

Mineta quickly finished his meal, and decided to retire for the night. After his friends finished, Mina and Uraraka parted ways with the boys and they went to their respective cabins.

Mineta trotted along with his friends, although a bit nervous expression on his face. Which his friends clearly caught on to.

"Hey, what's wrong Mineta?" Kaminari said softly. Midoriya had noticed as well now.

Mineta shuffled awkwardly. "I uh...I'm just nervous for tomorrow." And it was the truth. Tomorrow was the night where he was murdered. By that one guy with the salt block, and the fancy glasses. The memories began to come back again.

* * *

_"___Stay with us, Mineta!"__

__He desperately grabbed at the gaping wound in his chest, he tried not to scream as the jagged ends of his ribs punctured several organs.__

* * *

He shivered. "Really nervous." Villains were not to be underestimated at all, he learned the hard way. Mineta's negative thinking was halted by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Midoriya with his smiles, although luckily it was a rather small smile. Just a medium grin, not his beaming smile that would probably melt his eyes out.

"Don't worry Mineta! You'll do fine! We all will do fine if we give our 100% tomorrow during training!" Midoriya said cheerfully, giving Mineta a thumbs up.

Kaminari rolled his eyes at Midoriya's blinding optimism, but the he was smiling as well. "Yeah, he's right Mineta. We'll be A okay tomorrow, just be more confident in yourself man! You're more capable then you think."

Mineta felt mostly comforted by his friend's words, although the beads of sweat were still coming down his face. He still could remember the sickening __crack__as the villain rammed his item into Mineta's little chest, fatally incapacitating him instantly. It was unsettling how easily villains were willing to kill people. It was always bothered him. Human lives were not to be taken so carelessly.

"Yeah. You're right." Mineta gave a hopefully convincing smile to them. "Let's go, I'm exhausted."

As his friends and classmates all went to their respective cabins, and curled up in their sleeping bags, all seemed to be peaceful.

It wouldn't be for long though.

* * *

"Ugh, I don't like this! It's definitely not cute!" A blond girl grumbled, fumbling with the black mask over her mouth. The mask slightly muffled her voice. Her blonde hair was in two little buns, but frayed strands of hair still stuck out, as if the hair job had been rushed.

Beside her, a man completely dressed from head to toe stood at her side. "They were engineered for the black market from what I hear. As long as it functions correctly, appearances really don't matter."

His words did little to comfort her. "Ugh, I'm just saying! It's not my style!" She waved her arms up and down as she tried to adjust to the rather odd fit of the mask.

"Hi! Sorry we're late!"

"Work...work..."

A man with black hair did not even bother turning around to address the newcomers. "That makes seven."

A taller man with a large hood on stood by him. "I don't care...Lemme at 'em."

The black haired one rolled his eyes. "Shut up, you crazy bastard." Dealing with these odd comrades was going to be a pain. How had he gotten so low to work with these weirdos?

But they'd accomplish their mission either way. Because the student's peace was in the villain's hands now.

* * *

As the day started, it was mostly a blur. Things seemed to go by a lot quicker than last time, probably since the daytime training was kind of like yesterday's. Nothing really stuck out except for the students who failed the exams were currently under Aizawa's wrath.

The failed students were then told to train after the scolding. Mineta remembered conversing with his friends a little before training, and more with Kaminari, since they trained right by each other. They discussed stuff back at UA, girls, and what the rest of the training camp would be like. Mineta knew well that this was probably their last day at the camp, hopefully. They wouldn't force them to stay after an attack on the camp, right?

As the sun began to go down, they began to cook for themselves once more. Pretty normal stuff, as the students chopped and grounded their ingredients to put in the fire, nothing really extraordinary happened. Although a brief conversation about Kota between Midoriya and Todoroki happened once more, that was basically it.

After they ate, the Class A and B students were grouped up by the Pussycat's. They explained the training session was to be "A Test Of Courage" and they were encouraged to use their quirks to stoke their fears, which Iida oddly approved of.

As the first few groups went out, Midoriya noticed a shivering Mineta. The poor boy was obviously not looking forward for his turn to go out and be scared, but this was a bit much. He seemed pretty nervous. Beads of sweat ran down his head, and his breathing was a bit quicker than normal.

"Hey, it's alright Mineta, it's just an activity! We'll do the exercise and then we all get to bed. It'll be fine, I promise!" He said, flashing a hopeful smile at the grape boy.

Mineta seemed to go absolutely still. He turned towards Midoriya, the dull look in his eyes unnerved the green haired boy. Mineta just shook his head softly.

"No. No it won't."

* * *

**Fixed some paragraphs, which is what I'll do to the other chapters as well. If you liked this, please Review/Follow/Fav! Really helps me out!**


	19. Attack on the Camp

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 19****

****Attack on the Camp****

* * *

Midoriya shuffled nervously as the Pussycats passed out little tags that would let the students know who their partner was for this exercise. It was a test of courage apparently. Class B was setting up in the forest in chosen spots to hide and "Scare" the Class A students. The A students in question would pair up in small groups of two, and walk through a set path through the forest.

They had to hopefully not get scared half to death when they did this activity. Midoriya's smile had died completely when he had found out he was going to be by himself, since there was an odd number of students thanks to the group of student who failed the exams. Said students were yanked from Class A's group to be in a study session with the teachers.

If you managed to squeeze the truth out of Midoriya, he'd tell you that he was actually really wanting to be Uraraka's partner. But unfortunately that honor went to Tsuyu, the frog girl. But Tsuyu was a very nice girl, so Midoriya knew that his crush was in safe hands for this "Test of Courage" activity tonight.

The issue though was the lack of students present. The new amount of students changed the number of participants, it was an odd number, and he was to be isolated in this "Test of Courage". Midoriya felt that he wasn't the bravest person here, that honor would go to Bakugo.

Bakugo probably didn't have the basic understanding of what "fear" was. He would probably just get mad instead of being afraid, as he didn't completely understand the concept of fear. Then again, Bakugo just reacted to anything negative with anger. He was a hotheaded kid who might need a little bit of an attitude adjustment, but he definitely had backbone when it came to frightening scenarios.

Midoriya still was feeling a bit spooked, even if it wasn't even his turn yet. Bakugo would probably just blow up whatever Class B student that got too close in order to try and scare him. Well, at least some sparks, no matter how mad Bakugo would get Midoriya was sure his hot tempered classmate wasn't looking to be expelled.

__Speaking of frightened...__

Midoriya's thoughts went back to his easily frightened classmate, Mineta. He probably wouldn't like this activity, and if any previous events from this week taught him anything, The grape haired boy might get into a yelling match with someone from Class B. One insult is all it took for Mineta to set him off. Midoriya really hoped that if it happened, Mineta wouldn't be in trouble. __I should probably ask him to keep it cool tonight, just in case...__

Midoriya turned to the side of him. "Hey, Mineta-"

Mineta wasn't there.

All the thoughts in his noggin ceased at once. "Uh..." Midoriya began, grabbing the attention of his classmates. "Where's Mineta?"

The Pussycats had now taken notice of the grape boy's sudden disappearance. "What? Where did he go?" Pixie said.

The other Pussycat's began to glance around as well, but the grape boy was no where to be seen. "He's not going to just skip this training session." Mandalay said. She knew some students didn't like this activity, but straight up running and skipping the class... That wasn't allowed. She was going to give Mineta an earful next time she saw that little gremlin boy.

Mineta's fellow classmates, including Iida, and Ojiro had began looking around as well to see if Mineta was wandering off without permission. "Perhaps Mineta is too frightened to do the activity?" Ojiro wondered aloud.

"Either way, he cannot just skip a training activity such as this!" Iida said, chopping his hand. "The entire point of this is to face your fears! The Pussycats said that this was a Test of Courage! Failing to take part in this should be considered failing it!"

"Relax kid, I'm not going to let him skip..." Mandalay said. She knew a way to get the brat scrambling back here. Especially if everyone knew.

* * *

It was time. After days, hours, minutes of waiting, the time had finally come. He had planned, prepared, and prayed so that he wouldn't fail. The dark summer night felt like freezing winter, as the reality of the situation came crashing down on Mineta. Cold beads of sweat ran down his face. The time had come after all this time.

He'd distracted himself today with talking with his friends, laughing, joking, socializing, and just not thinking about the topic. It was a rather horrifying thing to know that people were going to get hurt, and possibly die. Tonight, people would suffer. Tonight, people would be hurt. Tonight, someone was probably going to die. Because today...

The League of Villains would strike. And Mineta had to do everything in his power to stop it.

So far, he knew only two villains would definitely make their scheduled appearance: The lizard one, and the salt block guy. He remembered their faces very well, since it was basically the last thing Mineta saw before his chest was forcefully caved in thanks to the villains.

He briefly remembered his friends surrounding him, and mourning him as he bled out in front of everyone. He knew very well the villains were pretty pleased when they struck the fatal blow to his small form. Well, now it was his turn to laugh.

That is, if he didn't completely screw this up. He didn't know if his second quirk was a one ticket only, or a specific number of tries, or that he could keep going as many times as he pleased. For all he knew, this could be his last one, so he had to make it count.

He felt relief, knowing that at least Mina, Kaminari, and a handful of other students were safe in the building where they were getting lessons from Aizawa and Vlad King, since they had failed their exams. Mineta felt slightly envious of their position right now, safe and far away in a brightly lit building. The natural fear of the dark and the unknown that lurked inside of it wasn't exactly giving Mineta a boost of confidence as his shoes crunched twigs and scraped against little rocks on the ground. Ever since he sneaked away from the main group waiting their turn to do the main activity to get what he needed.

He had brought everything, including his gas mask, __(with reflective lens, even if it costed a few extra bucks from his wallet, it looked cool. It was purple, how could he turn down the opportunity? You had to look stylish) __but he was starting to regret the reflective lenses, since they kinda dimmed his sight in the dark. He'd have to make do. He also had brought his trauma kit, but he preferred to call it a "Medkit" since trauma kit sounded a bit more...gruesome.

He also, brought...his box cutter. He wasn't looking forward to using it if he had to, but if a villain managed to capture him... He didn't want to use it at all. He crossed his fingers that he wouldn't have to use it.

After collecting his things, Mineta ran back into the night. He'd have to go around the group, in order to reach the two villains without being spotted. If he just barreled through, someone would obviously try to stop him, since he wasn't supposed to be wandering out alone. Probably would say something like "Mineta you're not allowed yet" or something like that.

As he jogged, he felt the gas mask slightly jiggle up and down as it wasn't a tight fit, the rubber edges rubbing against his skin. It was irritating, but he'd have to make do. Mineta knew his main priority: He'd immobilize the two villains, then run off and make his way to find Yaoyorozu. She'd definitely cooperate now, but that thought had made him facepalm earlier. He had _completely _forgot to ask Yaoyorozu to make the masks, he was so preoccupied with everything else happening these past few days at the camp.

But now she'd definitely help, and maybe Iida would cooperate with passing out the masks. Mineta knew that he had to wait a little, because he left a bit early, seeing as the time it took for him to sneak away, grab his stuff, and then make his way back the main group of students and heroes. Well, near them at least, he knew the direction the villains came from, so he'd just have to plant himself in a position close enough for Mineta to get the drop on them.

__Heh, it almost sounds like I'm prepared.__

In reality, Mineta did not feel prepared. He was absolutely terrified, but forced himself to move in order to do what was needed to be done. When he was back at the cabin gathering his belongings, his hands were _shaking _with terror. He was just a little kid, and he was about to go toe to toe with villains who easily had killed someone before.

__Well they did, they killed you. ___His subconscious quickly reminded him._

He shook the dark thought from his head. They _had _seen his quirk on television though, so they would have a very good idea on how he fought, since they had seen it when he combated in the Sports Festival. Well he suspected they did, unless villains couldn't afford cable? _Well, they probably could of went to a beat down pub or something with their crappy tvs, even they would probably be broadcasting the Sports Festival, no matter how run down the pub was._

_"__**_Mineta! Come back to the group immediately! Not participating in the required class activity will result in punishment!"_**_Mandalay's Telepath called to him. It seemed someone had actually noticed his absence, then. Now he had to be a bit more quiet now thanks to her interruption.

He figured Mandalay probably thought that he'd come crawling back since they both knew Aizawa probably heard that as well. Mandalay probably bet that the fear of punishment from the feared Pro Hero would bring him back. Well, she was wrong. Maybe another time, another universe. But not this one.

Great, now everyone knew that he was loose somewhere in the forest, but they didn't know where at least. He wasn't very easy to spot either. Given his size, he could fit in most bushes since he was laughably short. He thanked his lack of tallness, which was something he usually didn't do. He'd easily be able to hide from his classmates,

__Or villains.__

And thanks to Mandalay, he had to be a bit more sneaky when he arrived near the group. Since the Pussycat's telepathic member had notified basically everyone in the damn forest of his sudden disappearance, they were keeping an eye out for him.

Instead of being a tight group and impatiently waiting for their turn, some of the students were more spread out, and some like Midoriya even called his name. Not too loudly at least, but loud enough for anyone in the general vicinity to hear his voice. Mineta cursed under his breath as his bespectacled classmate Iida, almost managed to spot him. Mineta hated that the extra weight he carried now had slightly slowed him down, making him burn twice the energy as he tried to speed up on his way back.

Luckily, Iida turned to look in another direction. Mineta took his chance to run to the pathway where his two new "friends" were going to make an appearance. He'd have to play the ambush game, trying to combat them in a straight foward manner was an absolute impossibility.

No matter how many flips, jumps, or rolls he did, it wouldn't save his hide in hand to hand combat with villains, including one that had a damned sword. And the one with the salt block, man that was a nasty weapon. Easier to dodge though, but it might be just as fast since it's wielder had definitely been going to the gym. Those muscles obviously weren't for show.

Salt block, then. Mineta decided he'd go for salt block then. That stupid magnetic quirk or telekinetic quirk, didn't matter. It was the biggest threat, if he was able to use that quirk on Pixie...

Mineta stomped the thought out of his head. He couldn't be focused on "what-ifs" right now, not when he had the chance to make everything right.

Mineta hid behind the push, patiently awaiting his guests arrival. He knew it was time when he smelled that rancid stench of the toxic smoke in the sky. He'd have to get the drop on them, and he had to succeed the first try. He couldn't fight both, no matter how many grapes he hurled at them.

In truth, his heart rate skyrocketed. Mineta felt awfully anxious, but also terrified. He knew he had the steel to take the aggressive route with these villains, but it was still a scary thought nonetheless. It felt like that natural childlike fear of something in your closet, or what's under your bed. He couldn't afford failure tonight. People's lives were in his hands, whether they liked it or not. Not that they knew.

* * *

"Ooh, I cannot WAIT to get my hands on that one idiotic cat one."

A voice threw Mineta off for a second. __Already? I was just in time then...__

The villains had finally arrived, intent on hurting innocent lives. But Mineta, he wasn't going to allow that. It was time to take the fight to the villains.

"Which one?"

"What?"

"Sorry, which cat? There are four of the feline ones."

"Oh, right. The blue one, I think her name is Pixie Bob."

"Yeah, that Earthflow of hers is pretty nasty. Let's aim for her first, yeah?"

"Oh, I'll go for her alright!"

Mineta was pretty sure he felt vibrations in the ground as the huge forms of the villains approached his well picked hiding spot. It was a decently high branch, but very well obscured thanks to the ungodly amount of branches that grew around it. It wouldn't hurt too much to drop down, but Mineta had placed some grapes on the back of the tree, sort of like a rock wall. Thanks to the squishy like nature of his grapes, they were rather quiet as Mineta crept down. He had taken his shoes off as well, not wanting to cause too much noise. The socks would dampen the noise of his feet well enough.

"Oooh the anticipation is killing meeee~"

"Quiet! They're going to hear you!"

"Right, right."

Mineta carefully took two grapes off his head. He was close now. He was pretty sure he could even hear them breathing, since there was just the crickets of the night, and them. Mineta tried to suppress a shiver as he realized the spooked shrieks of the students doing the Test of Courage activity had stopped as soon as the toxic smoke appeared. He knew he had to step up the pace, people were getting hurt, injured, or possibly killed the longer he took.

He quickened his pace, and began his assault.

Throwing the two grapes he held in his hands at the feet of Salt Block, he felt a pang of satisfaction as the two grapes landed directly at the villains feet. It was a lucky shot, the angle they landed made one section of the grape stick on the feet, and the bottom of the grape stick to the ground.

Salt Block had begun to notice the weird feeling at his feet, catching his attention. And maybe the fact his feet refused to leave the ground was another cause of concern. "What the..." the villain said in an irritated voice. His heels would no longer lift up. Mineta watched as the villain experimentally pulled, the front of his feet lifted just fine, but the back part refused to rise.

Mineta began his assault on salt block, throwing a flurry of grapes to cover multiple parts of the villain's body. The adhesive little grapes stuck on, and stayed on.

Now lizard had noticed as well. "What the hell?! What's on you?!"

"Oh, I, I don't know! They're all over me, and they're sticky too!"

Only when Mineta temporarily halted his assault to back off did lizard notice the newcomer. He didn't look very pleased at all upon seeing Mineta, since his surprised expression quickly twisted into a rather displeased one.

"It's one of the students!" Lizard cried, pointing a clawed hand towards Mineta, who had two more grapes in his had once more. "What the hell is that on your face?" Lizard said. He squinted his eyes, then widened them. "A gas mask? Then that means..." Salt Block's eyes widened as well as they realized what was happening. Lizard angrily pointed a clawed finger at Mineta in an accusatory manner. "How the hell did you know about the poison smoke?!" Lizard cried angrily.

However, Mineta wasn't about to give away his little secret. He was ready for any move they dared to make against him.

Salt block's face also had a grimace as well, as he tried lifting his foot experimentally in an attempt to lift it from the ground.. "Ew, he put these little sticky balls on me! Gross!"

The green villain squinted his eyes hard, and suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wait a second, I know this one! I saw you're idiotic performance at the Sport Festival on TV! The one with the purple balls on his head!"  
_So they could afford TV's, at least I know they have the cash to buy basic technology. That is if they didn't just steal it, or watch in a sports pub._

"Mineta, huh? A little pervert challenges me? Don't think we don't know your quirk is, and from what I've seen today...You're probably going to die." The lizard sneered, readying his sword.

Mineta however had backed off, knowing that they would swing their weapons if he got too close.

"But I'll give you credit, you got some nerve sneaking behind us and taking the aggressive route." Lizard said, a cocky smile on his face was apparent now. "I'm rather impressed. Thought little chickenshits like you would just hide at the first side of danger. For you to rush us and attack... Not bad at all. But backbone or not, you're not getting out of this one alive, brat."

Salt block suddenly had a smug smile on his face as well. "I think you should come closer, little boy. I'm going to crush your tiny little skull."

Mineta frowned. How was salt block going to reach him from back there? Mineta wasn't going to risk running around them, well at least not yet.

His question was quickly answered when his body began to oddly glow, and he felt himself moving forward. Mineta knew exactly what was happening. _Stupid telekinetic quirk. _Reacting on instinct, Mineta took two grapes and slammed them into the ground and held on tight. Mineta felt his heart skip a beat as he felt himself lift in the air thanks to Salt Block's odd quirk. But he was held fast thanks to his grapes. He tightened his grip on his grapes instinctively.

_Maybe this silly quirk wasn't so bad after all._

"Clever little runt, aren't you?" Lizard cackled, now grinning once more. He charged Mineta, with his sword held high, ready to strike down on the child.

Mineta did not like his current situation at the moment. The magnetize or whatever was pulling him towards both villains, but thanks to his grapes he didn't budge. Lizard however, was advancing towards Mineta with his blade. He had to act fast. The group of his friends weren't far from here, if he used the magnetize at the correct moment...

He'd have to make the perfect shot, only one try to get this correctly. And if he failed, it was game over.

The grape boy patiently awaited as lizard just got close enough, within a 10 foot radius. Mineta let go with one hand, and grabbed a grape from his head with his free hand. He angled his arm to a degree for a good pitch.

__Here goes nothing...__

Mineta hurled the grape as hard as he could, aiming right for Salt Block's head. The adhesive sphere made a slapping sound as it made contact with the skin on the villain's face.

"Eugh! It's on my face!" Salt Block cried.

Mineta let go of his other grape. Knowing that people can't use their quirks very well if they get distracted was a very nice bonus, thanks to Mineta overhearing some of Midoriya's ramblings. The pull was still there, but halfway there it stopped, Mineta dashed past Salt Block, with Lizard probably not too far behind.

"Come back here, you little shit!"

He heard footsteps behind him, he blindly chucked two grapes behind him, not wanting to spam his quirk and make himself bleed. He had to get there. He just had to. One villain was already dealt with, for now at least. The sound of the advancing steps of the villain terrified him as he sped towards the group.

Mineta could of cried tears of joy once he saw the beautiful sight of the Pussycats and his classmates. They seemed to have temporarily stopped calling for him, as the next group of students was already sent. Pixie was sniffing the air, probably the scent of the poisonous smoke hitting her nostrils. This was where it began. It was where he remembered shoving the unsuspecting Pro Hero out of harms way.

Well, now it was time for round two. Mineta took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs.

* * *

Pixie Bob knew something was wrong the minute some of the screams of the frightened kids stopped. It wasn't just a silent night with the remaining students chattering on about minuscule affairs in their lives anymore. The awkward crickets and the yelps of the frightened students came to a complete halt. She didn't feel any better considering the fact there was now a ominous purple smoke surrounding the entire forest. _Was there a fire? _Smoke from a forest fire wouldn't burn her nostrils like that though. It smelled...

_Like a chemical fire. Toxic. Poisonous. Fatal._

Her train of thought was abruptly cut off though, because a certain student's voice distracted her for a second. A high pitched one at that

"HELP!" A tinny voice pierced her eardrums, almost making the Pro Hero cover her ears in pain. She turned to see...

"Mineta?" Midoriya said from beside her. The grape boy was running very fast, and he was wearing a gas mask? A form behind him was also running as well, rapidly advancing on Mineta. Pixie frowned. __Was that one of the other teachers...__

Her question was quickly answered as it finally caught up to poor Mineta, and lunged for him.

"HELP, VILLAINS! VI- ARCK!" Mineta's pleading for assistance were cut off due to a clawed hand latching on to his little neck, and lifting him off the ground.

"Mineta?!" Iida cried at the sight of the grape boy being held close to Lizard's chest.

"I didn't expect us to be introduced in such a quick manner, but thanks to your little pervert friend here, my buddy behind me is currently stuck on the ground!" Lizard's grip on Mineta's throat tightened just a little at the mention of Mineta's work on Salt Block behind him, who was still struggling to with Mineta's sticky grapes without removing his shoes. "But that matters not! We are the League of Villains, and I've come to dispose of false heroes like yourselves!" He motioned to his Stain mask he wore with his free hand that held the sword on his shoulder.

Pixie was shocked. Shocked at the villains that dared to trespass on their property. Shocked that they dared to attack the children. But as she looked at Mineta's gas mask, she realized something. __So the smoke is toxic. There's no way this is a coincidence. Why else would he have a gas mask? __

_The girl with the creation quirk probably made it for him. Probably. _She readied to use her Earthflow. "Let the child go." The questions could wait till later, a child's life was in danger.

"Afraid I can't do that girlie, I know about your stupid earth quirk or whatever. If I even see a speck of dirt move, my claw is going into this kid's jugular." To show he wasn't joking around, he tightened his grasp on Mineta's neck, aiming the thumb towards the vein on the grape boy's exposed throat. Pixie growled in anger, and didn't move from her spot. Tiger was also by her side in confronting the villain that held Mineta. The other one was more alarmed at something else. Mandalay's eyes widened. If there were villains here...

"Kota!" Mandalay suddenly said with widened eyes. "I don't know where he is!" Panic was clear in her voice, not knowing where the young boy was at the moment. It all made sense though now, the smoke, the lack of hearing the students, and these people. The League had planned this for some time now. And they were wanting to take whoever they could out of the picture.

_Kota...where are you?_

"I can get him!" A voice called from behind her. A tuft of green hair was now in her line of sight. Midoriya stood proud. "I can get him! I know where he is!"

Mandalay didn't like sending a child to do her job, but she had no choice. She had to help with this whole hostage situation now. She finally gave in, nodding for Midoriya to rescue the young boy. The green haired boy immediately turned and sprinted into the night without hesitation.

_He'll definitely be a good hero when he grows up._

As the other two Pussycats confronted the villains, she turned and used her quirk to warn everyone of the villains arrival. They had to make their way back to camp, and they shouldn't use their quirk. They'd get hurt trying to fight trained villains.

This was very professionally planned, and the students weren't ready. Especially Class B, they probably hadn't seen a villain in their lives, they hadn't fought one either. The students were outclassed in a sad reality, so the new goal was to get as many students to safety as possible. As much as she wanted to fight the villains, protecting the students was the number one priority.

* * *

Mineta struggled as the villain had a very tight grip on his throat, not evening risking of loosening his grip for just a second. Lizard probably was just slightly fearful of having heroes in training and three Pro Heroes standing in front of him. It was not an even fight at all, but the scaly villain had a hostage, which stopped the Pussycats from making any advancements.

Lizard seemed to be slightly amused as he saw the angered looks on the people who stood side by side in front of him. "Heh, it seems we have a bit of a stalemate here!" Lizard cackled deviously. Mineta trembled in fear as he felt the villain's claw press into his neck.

He tried not to cry, for he was terrified. He had planned poorly, but at least Pixie Bob was out of harms way. So he could check that off the list. But now he was once more in the villain's sight, but that was obvious since a sword wielding lizard threatened to poke a hole in his jugular.

He heart footsteps behind him. Heavy footsteps. Footsteps that didn't sound like a student would be that large.

"Sorry about my fashionably late arrival, darlings! These little sticky spheres are quite icky"

Salt Block had rejoined with Lizard, and Mineta noticed that Salt Block had to take his footwear off thanks to the grapes Mineta hurled at him earlier when he ambushed them.

"It was just a simple distraction, no need to worry about it!" Lizard said. He seemed slightly more chipper at the fact his ally had rejoined him. "We just have these idiots to worry about!"

"You're a damn coward," Pixie growled. "Hiding behind a damn child because you lack the spine to fight me."

"I'm a villain, sweetheart." Lizard sneered. "I don't play fair. I play to win." He held Mineta in the air triumphantly as an example. "But as much as we like talking about honor and cowardice and stuff like that..." Lizard began.

"We do have to wrap this up darlings, we have a job to do!" Salt Block said as he swung his item threateningly. He focused on Pixie. _Time to join this kid, you idiotic Pro Hero._

"M-Magnetize..." Mineta managed to gasp out. Pixie lowered her guard for a split second in confusion. "What?" _What was the kid trying to say? Magnetize? Was that the villain's quirk?_

"G-grab the ground. Gra- UGHCK!" Mineta choked as Lizard quickly realized what the grape boy was attempting to do. "Spoilsport!" Lizard cried as he slashed the side of Mineta's neck with his claw. He cried out and struggled as the blood dripped out of the small wound on his throat. It wasn't the jugular, but it still bled nonetheless.

__Magnetize? __Pixie thought.

It was only when she glanced down that Pixie noticed that she was glowing now. She had a confused expression for a second, but quickly caught on to what was happening. Mineta's warning from a minute ago echoed in her head, and she reacted on instinct. Pixie quickly dug her claws into the warm earth, and prayed that the engineers that made her costume technology were competent. She curled her fingers around the inside of the paw glove as she felt herself get pulled towards the villains.

Luckily for Pixie, her fellow Pussycat's reacted just as fast, and grabbed her arms just in case the claws weren't enough. Salt Block ceased his quirk usage since he finally seemed to understand that his quirk wasn't working.

__Wrong move, asshole. My turn.__

Pixie called upon the earth to slam a mound of dirt into Salt Block, who was slammed into the side of a rather large tree. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but stunned him for a temporary amount of time. For how long, she didn't know, but she'd take advantage of every second that was earned from the temporary distraction. And Lizard was actually taken of guard, not expecting for the Pro Hero to have the spine to actually attack when there was a hostage in play. Lizard looking the other way had seemed to be distracted enough, as he looked in surprise at his comrade being slammed into the pillar of wood.

His grip on Mineta loosened. Just enough for Pixie to take advantage, and call upon the earth for another mound to rise from the ground. She carefully aimed her dirt under Mineta, and it rose.

Both characters were sent backwards however, it seemed her aim was not good enough, but he was out of Lizard's grasp for now. Lizard and Mineta slapped on the ground, since Pixie purposely didn't slam them into a tree in fear of harming the grape child. "Tiger, go!" Both Pussycat's knew that they only had one shot to do this correctly. They had to get this in one shot.

Pixie wanted to run in and help, but with her quirk being the most useful in this terrain, things would go very bad if she got taken out. She didn't know how long Mandalay could last if Tiger somehow got taken out of the picture. If it got too bad, she'd step in. Mandalay had finished her telepathic message to the students and was standing by her side.

Hearing Pixie's command, Tiger nodded and rushed towards the small boy who was trying to get up, still dazed and confused. The wind had been knocked out of Mineta stunning him momentarily, but he didn't want to risk anything. Tiger sped up his pace, intent on grabbing the boy.

He was almost there, the boy was within arm's reach! Tiger reached out with his paw...

Only to be feeling something pull him away from the boy. He noticed the arm he was reaching out with was glowing now, and he knew exactly who it was. Salt Block had apparently recovered already, and now was trying to buy his scaly companion some time. Tiger didn't have time for this. He started running towards Salt Block, who's eyes went wide in alarm since he didn't expect the Pro Hero to rush him.

A good hit in the villain's head knocked him out cold. Now he turned back to Mineta, and realized with horror that Lizard was getting up off the ground, his sights set on the grape boy as well. Lizard was closer, as Pixie's Earthflow had knocked him and Mineta in the same general direction.

But Pixie couldn't use Earthflow, not when Tiger was so close! It would just knock them apart, possibly buying Lizard more time to hurt the boy. She had to trust that her friend could reach Mineta in time.

* * *

Time seemed to slow down, as Lizard panicked. Tiger was about to knock him out cold with his paw fist. Without his sword, he couldn't avoid the punishment from the buff Pro Hero. Once that paw made contact with his skull, he'd probably wake up in a jail cell. And he'd probably be kept in that cell for many years, since he was a villain attacking UA.

Lizard was very aware of how overprotective the teachers were of their precious students, so his sentence was probably going to be very severe. But he'd have the last laugh. Or he'd try to at least. AS the boy struggled in his grasp. He felt the boy's head in his hands, and he felt the little hands that weakly attempted to pry off his clawed hands. Smiling, he twisted.

* * *

****CRACK****

The hit on Lizard was very solid, so solid that Tiger thought he might of broken the villain's nose. Not that he cared though, but his nose or jaw was definitely fractured at the very least. Lizard's grip on Mineta was completely gone as the reptilian villain went limp after taking the full force of Tiger's fist. Tiger quickly grabbed the boy, and ran back towards the group.

"Nice one, Tiger" Pixie congratulated her friend on successfully rescuing the grape haired boy, who was lying still in Tiger's arms.

The buff Pro Hero gently nudged Mineta. "It's alright kid, your safe now."

Mineta however did not budge. He was completely limp. A feeling of dread began to eat at Tiger's stomach. "Kid?" The other Pro Heroe's quickly caught on to the slight tone of worry in Tiger's voice.

"Tiger? What's wrong?" Mandalay said cautiously. Tiger gently removed the mask from Mineta's head, and froze.

Mineta's eyes weren't closed, he wasn't asleep, or unconcious. Mineta's eyes were open.

But they were completely dull and lifeless. Devoid of any light.

The feeling of dread increased tenfold. "Kid?" Tiger's voice was more desperate. "Kid, wake up! Cmon!"

Mineta didn't budge. The other Pussycats gathered around. Pixie seemed to voice the horrid question lingering in the three Pro Hero's minds. "Is..Is he?"

Tiger gently tried to roll Mineta over, to see if there was any injuries on the grape child's back. Tiger took his glove off, and cautiously put his finger over the jugular on Mineta's tiny neck.

No pulse.

Tiger's eyes widened. _But the kid looked fine! How did he...?_

It was only when the buff Pro Hero ran his hands and felt his neck. His eyes realized with horror what had happened. When he punched the Lizard, the crack wasn't the villain's nose getting broken, or his jaw fractured. The loud crack he had heard was actually Mineta's...

Tiger slowly clenched his hand into fits, and punched the ground in anger. Mineta was dead. He had failed. The Lizard had snapped the poor child's neck in a ditch effort to get one final blow on UA before he fell. Tiger stood up, and turned to his fellow Pro Heroes. "He's...he's gone."

Pixie took a step back, obviously in shock at the fact that the student was gone. _Mineta was gone._ She felt enraged now, it wasn't a very hero like thing to think, but she wouldn't mind curb stomping the villain's heads in right about now. They deserved worse then just rotting in a fucking jail cell.

The other students were in shock as well. Iida bowed his head in respect for the poor boy. Ojiro reeled back, still not completely absorbing the fact that Mineta was dead.

Out of all the people standing there, Mandalay took it the hardest. She stared at the empty eyes of the deceased child still gently in Tiger's hands. It was only then did Mandalay realize just how small of a child Mineta really was. How _frail_ he was. If he was just a bit smaller, he would be the same exact size as...

__Kota.__

A dark image flashed in her mind of Kota being a dull, empty eyed body on the ground. The very thought of it horrified the red clad Pro Hero. But a dead child was a cold reality now, as she stared at Mineta's lifeless corpse. She was crying before she realized it.

Pixie attempted to comfort her by embracing her friend gently, trying soothe her. But she knew she had to relay what happened to here to Aizawa. If she knew the Underground Hero, he was probably already in combat.

Mandalay hugged Pixie one last time, then turned towards the building where he was last in. After getting control of her small sobs and her breathing, she used Telepath.

* * *

Aizawa was currently engaged in combat with a strange scarred villain who wielded blue fire for a weapon. The first time he had fought the villain was inside the building he was currently standing outside of. The villain had come in and engaged Vlad King and Aizawa in close combat, with the Blood Hero quickly immobilizing him thanks to Class B's teacher's quick thinking. Their victory was shortly lived however, as the villain proceeded to taunt then before __melting__away in front of their very eyes.

Did this villain have a second quirk? Or was it the work of another villain that hid in the deep parts of the seemingly endless forest? But now, he was fighting the scarred man once more after the villain had attempted to ambush him when he exited the building. Aizawa was about to go for a knock out strike after he had gotten his scarf secured around the villain's body. Then, a voice echoing in everyone's heads stopped him in his tracks.

**"**_****Eraserhead.. Mineta...Mineta's dead. I'm so sorry."****_

All the thoughts of the current events in Aizawa's head came to a grinding halt. Mineta was... he was dead? Anger began to cloud the Pro Hero's judgment as the villain cackled. "Wow, they actually managed to take a kid down huh? Guess I misjudged them. Then again, it probably wasn't a challenge for them, since it was just a stupid bratty kid. Good riddance."

Aizawa's eyes glowed red as he quickly struck at the laughing villain, who just melted into a pile of mud like last time. Another clone.

Grief combined with anger was the thing driving Aizawa to keep going now. He quickly sprinted into the forest, intent on finding the one responsible. Once he found the real version of this villain, he'd beat him until the scarred brat begged for mercy.

He didn't shed any tears, but his soul was burning at the fact one of his students was dead now. He would of denied it if you had asked him, but he deeply cared for the safety of his class. Even if they were rather troublesome at times, Aizawa was protective of them. And now, one of them was dead.

_**Dead.**_

Never to come back.

* * *

Kota was completely speechless. The teen who he punched, and insulted, and originally had been written off as completely useless, had saved him. Kota was terrified as the muscle villain had attempted to kill him, only for Midoriya to jump in and completely wipe the floor with him. It was an amazing display of power, none that Kota had ever seen before in his life.

_The only person who could do anything similar to Midoriya was All Might._ Kota briefly remembered watching the buff Pro Hero on television, and being amazed at the huge amounts of strength he had. It was eerily similar how they almost had the same form when they punched a villain in the face.

"Kota,"

Midoriya's voice pulled Kota from his thoughts. He looked over to the panting boy who had a hopeful smile on his face.

"We need to get you to safety! Aizawa's probably our best bet on protecting you, since, well..." the green haired boy's gaze dropped to his own arms, which were battered and broken since he had engaged in combat to save Kota's life.

Kota hesitantly nodded, and climbed onto Midoriya's back. The green haired boy began to jog in the direction of the camp, to where Aizawa hopefully was. The teen had only gotten a few steps in when a voice made Midoriya come to a complete halt.

**"**_****Eraserhead.. Mineta...Mineta's dead. I'm so sorry."****_

Kota's blood went cold. He didn't know who Mineta was, but he knew Mineta is definitely a person.

_Well, ___was ___a person. _A dark thought reminded him.

Midoriya had completely stopped jogging, his face now having a look of complete and utter horror. He muttered to himself. "M-Mineta? Mineta's... he's, he's g-gone? N-no..."

Kota noted with fear how Midoriya's voice was now shaking slightly. His savior dropped to his knees, and the boy quickly took that hint to get off of Midoriya's back for now.

As he climbed off, he noted how the teen's shoulders shook with each small sob. Tears were now running down Midoriya's face as he mourned the fate of his grape haired classmate. Whoever Mineta was, he was gone forever. Kota could only hesitantly rub Midoriya's back, not knowing any other way to comfort him. Midoriya mourned for what seemed like several long minutes, then his sobs turned into sniffles, until he got up. Kota noted how Midoriya's eyes were now a bit pink from him crying so much.

"Mister Izuku?" Kota asked, caution clear in his voice. He knew that the boy might've needed more time.

"I, I uh, I'm...I'm okay now." Midoriya didn't even bother trying to give a reassuring smile to the kid who stood in front of him. He closed his eyes tightly to squeeze the tears out. He desperately to keep his voice steady. "C-Climb on. I still have to t-take you to A-Aizawa. I-It's not safe out here."

Kota felt that Midoriya needed more time, but he couldn't do it out here, where dangerous villains were still lurking about. He hesitantly climbed back on, and Midoriya disregarded to jog, instead settled for sprinting. It was faster, but would take more of Midoriya's energy. But he couldn't care less right now.

Because Mineta was dead.

* * *

**Finally, after all this time, Mineta's story finally begins.**

* * *

**Seperated a lot of paragraphs to make it look less cluttered, and changed some sentences. This is a huge chapter. If you liked this chapter, please Review/Follow/Fav!**


	20. The Sting of Failure

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 20****

****The Sting of Failure.****

* * *

****SUMMARY:****

****Feeling the effects of failing again takes its toll on Mineta's already fragile emotional state.****

* * *

Failure hurt most when you tried your best. And really tried your hardest, as in putting everything you had into it. If you believed that you could actually succeed, it made failure a whole lost worse then just average failure. When you put your heart and soul into completing the task, but ended up doing it incorrectly, it felt awful.

Failure was a pain Mineta couldn't even put into words when it had first hit him. Sure, he had failed at a lot of stuff before, being #1 wasn't really his thing. He succeeded in a lot of stuff too, but the sore feeling of failure would resonate for much longer in his chest. He felt it when he was woken up by his mother.

* * *

Mineta's mother had walked into his room to gently wake him up for school, but had stopped when she heard his quickened breath. A few tears were leaking out of his eyes as well, and she immediately knew her son was having a nightmare. Acting on instinct, she quickly approached his bed and put an arm on his body to gently squeeze him, to hopefully get him to wake up. Her efforts were rewarded when Mineta's eyes flew open and shot up like a spring, breath still quickened.

"Minoru! It's alright sweetie." She said as Mineta's beady little eyes scanned his surroundings, as if it was his first time there. His frantic search stopped when his eyes settled on his mother.

He squinted his eyes. "Momma?" He said hesitantly, as if it asking her was a mistake.

"Yes, it's me honey. It was just a nightmare." She quickly assured him, rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him. Nightmares have happened before, and they had made her little Minoru cry. But that was back when he was a little toddler. To have a nightmare that actually made Mineta tear up from fear... She didn't like it.

"Nightmare..." Mineta parroted the word out loud.

It seemed he finally realized it was just a nightmare. She softly hugged him, relieved he had finally come back to reality.

* * *

It all came back to him. It all came back at once. He felt like he had been hit by a semi truck when his memories flooded back into his skull. He remembered it all. His second demise when he had made a foolhardy attempt to save Pixie during the camp attack, how the Lizard had managed to catch him when Mineta hadn't been fast enough to evade him. The entire standoff of the Heroes trying to get him back. Everything.

He suddenly realized why his neck had a sort of phantom pain when he woke up. _Lizard definitely twisted far enough, that was for sure. _Hope I don't have to experience that again. __Mineta thought as he absently rubbed his neck.

He was now looking into the eyes of his concerned mother, who still was waiting for an answer from him. __Deja Vu was going to be a common thing, wasn't it?__

Well, he just had to go with the best option. "I had a bad dream." Mineta said softly. __Not very original, but it'd work. __Mineta was now aware he actually had been crying. He didn't feel like crying right now, oddly enough.

So why were tears leaking out of his eyes? He he did feel something else slowly flicker to life in his stomach, though what he couldn't tell yet.

His mother gave him a reassuring smile. "It was just a bad dream, you're okay now."

Mineta sniffled. "Yeah, I know. Thanks." He looked outside of the window. "I suppose I should be getting ready now, huh?"

His mother nodded in response. "Yes, you probably should. I have to get ready myself, are you sure you're okay right now?"

Mineta just nodded, and his mother gave him one last warm smile, and exited the room.

* * *

The feeling had begun to increase inside his stomach. It slowly puffed up and made it's way to his chest, it felt hot. Once Mineta realized he was subconsciously clenching his fist, he recognized the feeling inside of him right now.

_Anger._

Anger at himself, and how stupid he had been. How stupid that he'd let himself get caught. Mineta clenched both fists now, and punched the wall as hard as he could. "FUCK!" He said out loud, not a shouting volume in case of his mother still being able to hear through the wall. The sound of his fist making contact with the wall could be compared to someone knocking on the door. The wall in question was unsurprisingly unaffected by his weak arm strength, not even the paint had a mark on it.

_Of course it wouldn't. I'm just so damn weak, aren't I? Probably the weakest in the entire class. Why did this task have to be mine? Why couldn't someone better like Midoriya have this damn quirk?_

__Fuck. Fuck! FUCK! I fucked up so fucking bad. How did I manage to fuck it up?__

He planned. He prepared. He borderline _prayed_. But he still failed, nonetheless. Mineta thought he could do it, and shocker, he was wrong. But he just wanted to do something right for _once. _Well, it seemed that it obviously wasn't one of those times. At this rate, would he ever do anything right? Mineta felt that the answer to that question was probably no.

Desperately, he tried searching for __some __sort of bright side to all of this. There was always a bright side, right?

__Well, you at least have another go at this whole thing, right? At least you're not stuck in purgatory.__

__Yeah, another time to fail. Go me. I didn't even last 10 minutes by myself. Maybe if I actually stuck to half of my original plan I would of lasted at least 30 seconds longer.__

The sting of defeat was a very painful sensation. Even after Mineta's miniature tantrum ended he somehow felt exhausted after just waking up. He'd just have to try again, but he'd try to make things right. He wouldn't take out his anger on his friends, they didn't deserve that. His friends had nothing to do with his failure. He knew it was his own fault that he failed, that he died a pathetic death.

And this time, he wouldn't just be a brat to his friends. He wasn't looking forward to going back, and he was feeling rather queasy after dying again. But, he'd still try. Plus Ultra, and all that stuff. He got dressed, said goodbye to his mother after giving her a hug, and went to school. He really didn't want to go, but he still had to. People were counting on him, even if they didn't know they were.

* * *

"There's only one week until final exams." Aizawa deadpanned to the entire class.

Mineta sighed as he ignored the announcement, as he had heard it twice already. It was still rather strange to experience, at least in Mineta's case. When some people rewatch a movie they've seen before, they seem to notice it actually seemed to be a bit different than the first time. Mineta was pretty sure it was called the "Mandela Effect" or something like that.

Well, that's what it felt like. When Mineta watched Aizawa announce the exams, he noticed things he previously didn't remember. After he actually focused a little, he noticed Aizawa's eye slightly jerked over to the more lower scoring students upon mentioning the exams. Just for a split second though, he had to be paying attention to actually notice the subtle eye movement.

Also how Aizawa's thumb twitched a little as he had the stack of papers in his hand earlier. Mineta had begun to focus on miniscule details like that since he had literally had seen all of the other stuff before.

After he left, the usual scene played out like last time. Mina and Kaminari had screeched about how they hadn't studied at all, Mina laughed carelessly while Kaminari held his head in his hands in utter despair. Mineta smiled at the little scene playing out.

He felt regret again over the fact that he lashed out at them originally, but he was still trying to adjust back then. Mineta did not feel 100% okay at the moment, but he'd have to push through for now. He had a job to do.

"Ninth place?!" Mina cried, pointing at a finger once more at Mineta in an accusatory manner. "And I thought you were one of us?"

Kaminari as expected, jumped in. "Guys like you are only likable if they're dumb!"

Mineta braced himself. He wouldn't behave like last time. __Alright, here I go...__

Mineta turned to the two students who were currently enraged at his placement, and just gave them a friendly smile. "Hey, I'm sure you guys will do great if you study and work hard to pass! I wouldn't worry! I think if you put the effort in, you'll be fine!" He gave them a thumbs up.

He felt oddly amused as they both recoiled, obviously not expecting the overly friendly response from the grape haired boy. Their tense angry faces twisted into one's of surprise and confusion. They seemed to have trouble coming up with a response to what Mineta just said. In reality that was probably the nicest thing he had said to Mina this year.

Mina frowned. Her eyes had a glint of suspicion. "Was that sarcasm, Mineta?" Mina said with her hands on her hips. "Because to be honest I'm having trouble telling if you're being sarcastic, or if you're being genuine."

Well, he couldn't blame her for that. He probably hadn't been very pleasant the day before. Or the day before that. And the day before that.

But another student seemed to notice the friendly suggestion as well, and came to his rescue. And thankfully, it was the purest soul there.

"Mineta's right! W-we should do our best!" Midoriya said, a hopeful smile on his freckled face.

Iida also gave his 5 cents on the matter, and it almost seemed that Kaminari and Mina were almost overwhelmed with the sudden support coming from their classmates. It was thanks to Yaoyorozu suggesting that she could assist them with their studying, that it broke their temporary trance. They happily agreed to come and study, to Yaoyorozu's delight.

But Mineta still felt very troubled. The sting of failure was still fresh in his chest, and even if he had put on a smile for his two friends, he wasn't really doing too great. But he knew who he could ask about failure at lunch, and hopefully they'd help him.

Because the sting was beginning to build up, and it threatened to overwhelm him.

* * *

"Hey Midoriya." Mineta greeted his green haired friend, who was currently sitting with Uraraka and Iida. Speaking of his bespectacled classmate, Mineta was originally going to ask him for his advice, but he thought Midoriya would have better experience. Midoriya actually seemed glad to see him, to Mineta's slight surprise. "H-hello Mineta!"

"Heya," Uraraka managed to say with a mouth full of rice.

"Greetings, Mineta." Iida said, about to put some of his rice in his mouth as well.

"Uh, do you mind if I sit here?" Mineta said hesitantly. His voice seemed unsure of the response that Midoriya would give him. Thankfully Midoriya simply smiled and nodded. Mineta muttered his thanks as he sat next to Midoriya with his tray of lunch food.

"I don't mean to be rude Mineta," Uraraka said curiously. "But did you come over here for a specific reason?"

Mineta's eyes widened at the question. "How did you...?"

"I don't mean to be rude or anything!" Uraraka waved her hands. "But it, it just looks like something's bothering you. I have a knack for seeing that kinda thing in people. I saw ya frowning n' stuff while you walked over here, and since you were frowning at the floor instead of us, I'm guessing something's on your mind."

__Damn. Was I really that easily readable?__

Mineta chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I had a question for you Midoriya. Well, actually I needed advice on a, eh... a certain issue I have." He twiddled with his fingers, a bit nervous.

Midoriya luckily seemed ecstatic to help a friend. "Oh, then what's wrong Mineta? Did something happen?"

Midoriya's innocent question made Mineta wince, considering the fact that he was about to kill the mood. "Something like that," Mineta said. "Midoriya, how do...how should I deal with failure?"

Midoriya's eyes widened a little at the surprisingly deep question. He seemed befuddled, and slightly was too surprised to say anything. Afer a few seconds, he shook his head to clear his mind. "Well, I, wow that's sudden. I mean... Sorry." Midoriya was obviously caught off guard at the question.

Mineta refrained from making any snide remarks or any mean comments at Midoriya's reaction. He just sat there, ready to listen.

Regaining his composure, Midoriya took a deep breath. "Okay, sorry about that. We're not perfect Mineta, we'll all fail sometimes. Even if I do happen to not succeed at a lot of things... I don't let it put me down! If I keep trying..."

Mineta shook his head. __No, no, no. Not like failing a test or a race or something like that, you don't understand!__

"Midoriya. I don't mean that kind of failure." Mineta bluntly said out loud, cutting Midoriya off from finishing his encouraging speech.

"Eh?" Midoriya said, confused at Mineta's sudden interruption. "What do you mean then?"

Mineta felt a little bad at interrupting Midoriya, but he needed just some sort of advice. "I mean, like what if I put everything, and I mean everything, into trying to win, into succeeding in something really important, but I manage to fuck it up anyways? How do I deal with complete utter failure? Every time I think about it it...I hate it!"

Mineta didn't mean for it to sound like that, but he found himself choking up a little the more he spoke. To say he felt awful for failing was a massive understatement. He felt crushed. He was so damn sure that the other night at the camp was the one. The one where he didn't die like the first time he was at the camp. He had overestimated his abilities it seemed, he stupidly charged in blindly and got himself killed.

He found himself continuing his mini rant. "Because I-I did and I, I fucked it up, I really tried, Midoriya. I shouldn't be moping, but it still hurts to think about it. I could of done better, could of done SOMETHING different. I could of-"

"Hey, hey, calm down Mineta!" Midoriya quickly whispered, panicked at the fact that Mineta's voice was slowly starting to raise the more he spoke. Luckily no one had noticed yet, but Midoriya didn't want to risk the entire cafeteria of students turning towards their table. The boy put his hands on Mineta's shoulders, and gently shook him. He didn't know what happened with Mineta that got him this way, but he didn't want the boy going into hysterics in the middle of the lunchroom.

The shaking seem to snap Mineta out of whatever he was going on about, thankfully. "S-Sorry." Mineta said, now very self conscious of the bizarre looks he was getting from his classmates at the table. "I didn't meant to go off like that..."

Midoriya's grip on his shoulders released as the grape haired boy shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, completely now aware of the tantrum he just threw. Even Iida was speechless, who originally was going to scold him earlier for swearing, but stopped the more Mineta spoke.

Realizing how awkward he probably made his friends just now with his yelling, Mineta shuffled uncomfortably. "I should just, go to a different table..." Mineta said, moving towards the edge of his seat to leave.

Midoriya quickly put a hand on Mineta's shoulder once more to stop from him from leaving. "No, No, sorry! I should of said something, I just didn't expect that." He winced at his wording, knowing it probably sounded harsher then he intended. Especially how he said "that" at the end, he needed to work on his tone.

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't of went on that little rant, I'm sorry." Mineta said, now feeling awful for upsetting Midoriya. He should of kept check of his emotions, but they just seemed to overwhelm him the more he talked about the way he was feeling right now. The anger at himself. The shame of failing. He needed to keep check of these emotions.

He steeled himself, taking a deep breath inwards. That wouldn't happen again. He'd try to answer Midoriya if he asked anything though, just to end this seemingly endless circle of apologizing to each other. He'd have to be vague, just as long as his friend didn't ask what happened to him.

"Mineta, what happened?" Midoriya said. "What did you fail? Are you okay?" The green eyes had a clear amount of concern in them.

__Fuck.__

Could his luck be any worse? Or Midoriya had a second quirk with mind reading or something. Or just coincidence. Now Mineta knew how the others felt when he predicted stuff that had happened previously. Then again, he was probably asking for Midoriya to inquire about what had happened, especially after that little rant of his.

Deja vu aside, he had to once more steer Midoriya off track. He wasn't ready to tell what happened, not yet. "I, I can't say. I don't want to..." Mineta answered honestly. He didn't feel prepared enough to tell them. He planned to though. Just... not yet.

Midoriya didn't seem to like the lack of clarification. "Mineta..." He said, his tone resembling that of a parent trying to talk to a stubborn child. "If you don't want to tell that's okay, but if you do, I can help! If it's causing you this much pain, you shouldn't have to go for it alone."

__Wait a minute. This feels familiar. I feel like this has happened before. Not to me...what is it... I've seen Midoriya acting this way before...__

Then the truth of the situation hit him like a bus. Mineta almost face palmed at his own stupidity, as he realized just now that he had unintentionally set himself up for the dreaded "Midoriya Treatment". He literally made the first mistake of informing Midoriya of the problem straight to his face. How many steps did he unintentionally skip thanks to him admitting the issue right in front of the green haired boy?

* * *

To say Midoriya was troubled at the moment would be a pretty big understatement. A humongous one to be precise. Everything seemed to be going pretty alright for today so far, other then the fact that he was concerned about some of his fellow classmates possible results in the future exams. But he wouldn't name anybody specific though.

Though he was pleasantly surprised earlier, thanks to Mineta being surprisingly encouraging to Mina and Kaminari. When the two troublesome students had mini panic attacks at their lack of studying, Mineta had shockingly turned to them, smiled, and gave some encouraging words. Midoriya had joined in himself not too long after in an effort to lift their spirits.

It seemed to have worked for the most part, even Yaoyorozu had offered assistance in studying, which they both immediately agreed to. It was a relief to see them trying and putting effort into passing the dreaded final exams. Though Midoriya would agree with them on one thing, final exams were_ always_ nerve wracking.

Except just a few seconds ago, when he was approached by Mineta, who said that he had a problem. Sure, everyone had problems to deal with, and their own ways of dealing with them, but Mineta... he apparently seemed to have failed in doing something very important to him, even going on a rant about how he messed up something bad. He even cursed, which had caught him, and Iida, especially Iida, off guard.

The way his hands almost seemed to shake the more he talked, it unnerved Midoriya greatly. So he decided to put a stop to it by calming the grape boy down, by putting his hands on Mineta's shoulders, and shook. It actually worked, to Midoriya's surprise. (And relief).

He had snapped out of it, and apologized, and it turned into both of them apologizing to each other, which didn't help the situation at all. But now he looked at Mineta, who was refusing to respond to him at the moment. His refusal to communicate wasn't really helping. Midoriya scratched his head in thought. He'd have to approach this issue differently, it seemed.

"Mineta," He began, surprising himself by not sounding hesitant in the least. "About your issue..."

"What about it?" Mineta's quick response had a hint of suspicion.

Undeterred, Midoriya continued. "When you think about it, I mean really _think_, as in blocking all other thought out and focusing on it, how does that make you feel?"

Mineta stopped, seemingly not expecting the new question from the green haired boy sitting next to him. "Well..." Mineta then put a finger to his chin in a matter not unlike Tsuyu.

Midoriya regretted asking the question because a few seconds later Mineta quickly nodded. But Mineta had swallowed before speaking, and when he answered, he quickly noticed a very audible shake in the boy's voice.

"Y-yeah. If I uh, if I think about really hard...I'm getting choked up, aren't I?" Mineta seemed to be trying not to sniffle or breathe in too quickly, as if he was afraid of a sob coming out instead of just breathing in normally.

Midoriya shook his head quickly. "It's alright Mineta, it's just a natural reaction to stress. I promise I won't judge you for having this sort of reaction to the situation. I've been in situations similar where I kind of almost cried as well. I won't make fun." Midoriya flashed him a hopefully encouraging grin.

Deciding to join in, Iida refrained from hand chopping but still made gestures with his hands. "Midoriya is correct, Mineta! No one has full control of their emotions." Iida glanced down at the floor in shame, recalling a recent event where his emotions almost got people killed. "Believe me, I would know about that whole matter of emotions."

Midoriya glanced down for a second as well, remembering his frightening experience with Stain.

"But!" Iida continued suddenly, catching the people at the table off guard, "I know what it's like to fail in trying to do something very important. I tried doing something as well during my time under a Pro's tutelage,but the thing I was trying to accomplish... It wasn't a very noble thing. And because of that my actions caused bad things to happen. I felt horrible when I failed, even though I managed to get out mostly unscathed. Well..." Iida glanced at the scars on his arm, courtesy of a certain blood villain. "Mostly."

Mineta's unstable breathing had transitioned into gasps, not quiet sobbing yet, but very close. "H-how, how do you deal w-with it? I just f-feel so awful when I think about it..."

"Mineta," Iida began cautiously, unnerved at Mineta's behavior. "I don't mean to sound harsh when I say this, but have you considered talking to a teacher, or perhaps a counsel-"

"NO!" Mineta suddenly blurted out, cutting off Iida. It was actually a bit loud enough for other students to hear from the other lunch tables, causing them to turn in his direction. Mineta shrank into his seat out of embarrassment.

Midoriya did _not _like how quickly Mineta had rejected Iida's idea, especially considering the fact that mentioning counseling made Mineta's eyes widen and triggered the quick and loud response.

"No." Mineta repeated, a small whisper only the people sitting near him could hear. "I don't want that."

"If you don't mind me asking..." Uraraka said, finally joining the conversation instead of watching on the sidelines. "When did this happen? Was it a very recent event? Or was this like a while back?" The brown haired girl cringed. __I'm being a bit too aggressive with the questions, I should cool it with the rapid fire questions, probably isn't really helping the situation right now.__

But thankfully Mineta didn't seem too bothered though, but that was probably thanks to Midoriya. He had put a hand on Mineta's left shoulder, and tried to give a reassuring squeeze. It mostly had stopped Mineta from spiraling into sobs, and he'd stopped gasping as well, so that was a plus.

Rubbing his eyes from the few stray tears, Mineta spoke. "It...it was last night."

Uraraka definitely hadn't expected that, but she'd work with it. But even if the mental wound (and maybe physical wound) was still fresh, she understood it now. "That makes sense actually."

That made Mineta tilt his head in curiosity. "It, it does? H-how?"

Swallowing the last bit of rice she had been chewing when Mineta first responded, she continued. "Well, I have a feeling that it might be harder to handle a bad situation, like the failure thing you mentioned earlier. Since it was just last night, it's probably very difficult to handle at first. Like, its fresh on your mind right? You're just feeling this kind of emotion for the first time, and your body's obviously not used to it."

Midoriya didn't say anything, but he noticed how Mineta's eyes glanced at the floor momentarily when she said "first time".

Iida seemed to like her logic. "I can agree with Uraraka's reasoning! The...event that I don't like to think about, the way I felt was very similar to how you do right now." The bespectacled student clenched his fist as the thought of his stupidity in trying to get revenge resonated in his head. "It hurt to think about as well, I also got very emotional when I first thought about it after it happened. I never liked having the thought in my mind, and it was a very unpleasant time."

Midoriya noticed how the grape haired boy seemed to deflate, did he think he perhaps killed the mood?

"Until!" Iida suddenly said, spooking everyone at the lunch table with the sudden increase of volume. "I started spending time and interacting with my friends here at UA!" Iida had a smile on his face now. "Interacting with friends and family after something bad happening to you can be very beneficial to your state of mental health. Although it's rather unpleasant to think about my experience that one time, it's easier now thanks to my friends here. And since I am Class Rep, it is my responsibility to stay strong for UA, and especially for our classmates in Class A. And it's because of them I am able to have the strength to be the Class Rep."

Midoriya nodded. "Yeah! If I'm ever going through a rough time, it's much easier to handle if I'm with friends!" He turned towards Uraraka. "Uraraka, you've helped me with some stuff like that, and I'm really grateful for that!" Midoriya smiled, not noticing how Uraraka's cheeks had a bit of red on them when he mentioned her name.

"Y-yeah! Like how I told you Deku meant that you could do it!" She had an embarrassed smile now, but luckily Midoriya didn't notice that either.

He instead continued, "Yeah, just be with your friends and family, Mineta. I know the hurt won't go away immediately, but over time it'll get better! I promise!"

"Speaking of friends Mineta," Midoriya said. "Have you been talking with anyone since it happened?"

Mineta shook his head. In reality, he only interacted with Mina and Kaminari after Aizawa left the class earlier. "No, not really."

"Have you told anyone else?" Uraraka said curiously. "Other than us, I mean."

Once more the grape haired boy shook his head. "No, you guys are the first people I talked to about this." He glanced at the floor again. "I probably should of told someone else though..."

"Well, I'm glad you trust us enough to tell us," Midoriya said, sincerity in his voice.

Uraraka had a little smile as well. "Yeah!" But Uraraka's smile was really coming from the fact that Midoriya's smile was just so damn infectious, she just had to grin as well.

* * *

If you asked Uraraka about Mineta, she'd say she wasn't the biggest fan of the infamous pervert of Class A, but his sudden turn of attitude today was a very welcome change. Normally she expected him to make a little cocky response at his decent scoring of the midterms, not turn around and be friendly to the two low scoring students.

But if she had to be honest, she kinda hoped Mineta would stay this way, but not if Mineta had to be going through something like this. To make him almost cry, she would originally have ignored it, remembering Tsuyu telling her tale how at the USJ how easily Mineta had burst into tears.

But she could read people pretty decently, and when she looked at the little grape haired boy, and how he had borderline burst into tears just by thinking about whatever happened to him...It probably wasn't a very nice thing.

She didn't like to think of the many possible events that happened to Mineta. What had he meant by "failing"? Did he lose someone and thought that he had failed them? Did his actions inadvertently cause something bad to happen?

She wouldn't press for answers, but she definitely would be thinking about it later on.

* * *

"Thanks guys..." Mineta said. "I know you're right about the friends thing, but Mina and Kaminari are gonna be at Yaoyorozu's, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want me near her, or in her house. I'll try to deal with it myself. But thank you for the advice."

Midoriya didn't like the finality of Mineta's tone when he said that, as if the conversation was over. Mineta seemed to think so, as he quietly went back to eating his meal. Midoriya wouldn't accept that. "Mineta, you don't have to study alone!" Then the green haired boy seem to light up, "Hey, we could all study t-together!"

Mineta noticed how Midoriya's voice had a tinge of nervousness when he glanced at Uraraka while saying "together".

Uraraka thankfully, seemed to like that idea. "Yeah, we could study together Deku!" Uraraka turned to Iida "What do you say? It'd be fun for us to study as a little group!"

Iida put a hand to his chin. "Well, even though my grades are in very good shape, I will not just stop studying, no matter how confident I am about my knowledge of the exams. I suppose it wouldn't hurt!" Iida had begun to hand chop once more, almost hitting the lunch table once or twice.

Mineta ignored the violent gestures and instead had a little smile on his face, which Midoriya grinned at. He was ecstatic to see his friend in a better mood, even if the grape haired boy wouldn't share what happened. He was not about to push for an answer, it was important to respect someone's privacy. It was progress enough for today, at least for Midoriya.

After a vote was taken, it was decided that the study sessions they'd have before the exams would be at Midoriya's house. Originally it had been a tie for Iida and Midoriya, when a certain brown haired girl voted for "Deku's house". Midoriya had been embarrassed, saying that when he got home he needed to get ready, and that he "wasn't prepared for this", and "I hope I don't mess this up." His rambling was cut off by Uraraka's quick reassurance that it would be perfectly fine, and that she was looking forward to studying with him either way.

Mineta was feeling a bit better after the whole conversation at lunch happened. Truth be told, he was terrified at first that Uraraka and Iida would not welcome his intrusion at their lunch table, but was pleasantly surprised when they didn't seem to mind him sitting with them. He never really had a study session before, so this was kind of a new thing to him.

After lunch, and nearing the end of the day, it was the time when Bakugo stomped into the room to confront Midoriya, Mineta made his move.

It wasn't too spectacular, as Bakugo began his speech, Mineta had pretended to be asleep. In the middle of the speech, Mineta pretended to wake up, and politely asked for Bakugo to keep it down. Bakugo of course reacted in the only way he knew how, and that was anger. He told Mineta if he "Wanted a damn nap, you should go home you worthless sidekick" Mineta simply stood up and walked out, to Bakugo's surprise. He didn't know if the explosive blonde had finished his rant for Midoriya, he hoped he stopped.

But if you asked Mineta if he knew anything about a sticky purple ball on the class floor, and how Bakugo accidentally stepped on it while trying to exit, and how it took 10 minutes for Bakugo and Kirishima to get Bakugo's shoe free from it's sticky grasp, Mineta would inform you that he didn't know anything about that specific matter.

As he walked home, a smile slowly grew on his little face. The study session actually sounded like fun, since Mineta was very well informed on the questions of the written exam. Besides, hanging out with his friends would hopefully be very fun. And relaxing. Because Mineta honestly felt like he needed a break.

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****Just like last time, Not much to rewrite! Added some words, changed some phrasing and sentences, and evened out some paragraphs to look neater and less crammed. If you enjoyed, please Review/Follow/Fav! Below this is part of the original draft, but since it's having to do with review responses, I'm keeping it here.****

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****Now it's time to respond to reviews. Let me explain how this is going to work, I'll put the date and chapter corresponding to the review posted, and then my response will be in bold below. The reason for this is because if I post the persons entire review, it might be a lot of words, therefore adding more words to the chapter itself. If people read and notice that a chunk of the chapter is just reviews, they might stop reading. My reviews will also be wordy as well, and some pretty long, so I settled for having long responses instead of both. And yes, I know that this explanation of the whole review thing is a paragraph within itself, but its best if I explain now. ALSO, IF YOU ARE GOING TO RESPOND TO MY RESPONSE IN THR REVIEWS, PLS REVIEW THE CHAPTER AS WELL, SAME LOGIC AS I SAID IN CHAPTER 19, BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CHAPTER, AND THAT IT'LL HELP ME AS A WRITER. Ok, sorry about the mini rant. It's over. Without further ado, let's do this!****

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ZFighter18 chapter 19 . May 25

****Thanks, I do love me a good Mineta fic as well! I also hope more Mineta positive fics come out, because the fans hate for the grape boy is kind of cringe for me at this rate. The more I write about the story, the more he's becoming my favorite character. (Probably why he's my phone background now lol) But the only gripe about my story is my bad artwork for the cover, I wish it had a cooler picture. But more Mineta stories sounds great!****

BIG BadJ chapter 19 . May 25

****Glad to see you're excited about the story! Also, Happy what now? I uh, don't know that series if it's an anime or a comic or something. But glad that you like it!****

PoisonPen37 chapter 19 . May 25

****Thank you very much! I'm happy to see you're excited for what happens next in the story! Because I too am pretty excited!****

fencer29 chapter 19 . May 25

****Ok, I want to start this out by saying that you're probably one of my biggest critics, (which is okay since stories need criticism in order to get better later on, since only praise makes a person's ego pretty big, and hostile to the smallest amount of criticism, so keep on reviewing) and the amount of care and detail you put into your reviews is honestly kind of intimidating to me. I may or may not start sweating when I see your reviews because I know I'm in for a word thrashing. I can't think of any other way to word it, but you get it. And yes, I won't stay as long as that, and I definitely won't make as many chapters as I did before just on the practical, looking back that was quite a lot, and some of it felt like filler, which I'm ashamed of. I'm glad for your suggestions, and be aware I do take them into consideration. Overall, I'm glad you're still reading, and I hope you continue to review my fanfic! (Holy shit that was a paragraph itself lol)****

Amberdeengirl17 chapter 19 . May 25

****Yeah, Mineta's a bit young to be dealing with all this isn't he? I'm proud he held out as long as he did too, I still LOVE the idea of Mineta being pulled by a quirk only for him to slam two grapes on the ground and hold, the visual is just so damn cool. And you've seen what he's gonna be doing this time, hopefully it'll work out! See you next time, love your reviews!****

Twilight no Kami chapter 19 . May 25

****Thank you, I'm glad you like my work! Especially the "fucking good" are actually pretty encouraging words, I felt my morale raise just by reading that :D Hope you stick around for more chapters!****

brycel chapter 19 . May 25

****Yes, he's dead, mah poor grape boi ;-; I'm glad you appreciate my efforts to develop Mineta as a character. Most fics that have Mineta even appear are mostly kind of cringey as they use him for jokes of him getting beaten up after he does "Perverted thing #29" it's not enjoyable to watch Mineta get beaten up like that. I do hope more fics develop him as well. And you've seen how's he's already trying to build a better reputation instead of lashing out at everything. And as you seen, he goes back to the same exact time. Anon's review (Which is after this) inquires also about him going back further, but as you seen this isn't the case. Since Mineta had gone a bit early before the villains arrived to get his stuff, and he actually got caught a bit before he originally got his chest caved in the first time. It was the longer time it took for Mineta to die since it was just a simple neck snap after a long confrontation, and Midoriya left earlier the 2nd time at the camp since the panic of a bleeding classmate was no longer there. Midoriya was probably confident that the Pro's could save Mineta (Which unfortunately was not the case for the grape boi) but since he died during the camp attack as well, he woke up roughly the same time as the first time. You'll see what I mean by just beginning, things are gonna be much different than last time. Hope this helps!****

Kai Dragoon chapter 19 . May 26

****Yeah, the foreshadowing implied that he wouldn't. Well, this was a rather laid back chapter (except for mini panic attack), I hope it was interesting! I had enough angst from the previous one and wanted to lift spirits, even if just a little. I hope you keep reading my work man!****

Ickarium chapter 19 . May 26

**Well, I like spelling it as "Oi."**

****Mineta is Subaru? Isn't Subaru like, a car company or something? I swear I've heard of the word in a commercial... And things seem to be looking up so far, so that's a plus, right? Glad you are enjoying the story.****

bajy chapter 19 . May 26

****You said it buddy. You said it. Poor Mineta ;-;****

Guest chapter 19 . May 25

****Yeah, at least he gets another run. Well, as I explained before, since he died at the camp attack, he wakes up the same time as the first.****

Anon chapter 19 . May 25

**To the time of waking up, refer to brycel please, I don't wanna retype all of that XD And I'm very glad that you do appreciate how Midoriya interacts with Mineta. Our grape boi is the main star of this story, and the broccoli boi is on the sidelines. But that won't stop Midoriya from being a helpful innocent friend to those in need, because main character or not, Midoriya is going to be a nice kid. He's gonna help his friends either way, and seeing Mineta not being a pervert is probably something that Midoriya wouldn't mind seeing more, since he wants everyone to try the hardest, and be the best that they can. Glad you enjoy how I write him!**


	21. New Faces

****Twisted Nightmares****

****Chapter 21****

****New Faces.****

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****SUMMARY:****

****Mineta catches a break, and gets to meet new people.****

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"Ah, greetings Mineta! You made it in time!" Iida exclaimed as Mineta approached him and Uraraka, who were both waiting at Midoriya's door.

The boy nodded as he trotted up to join his friends. "Yeah, made sure to get here a little early. Guess you guys had the same idea too." Mineta said.

Truth be told, he was very excited to be doing a little study session with his friends, it was a nice break from the paranoia, and terror he had felt these last few days, he was beginning to get sick of the word "camp".

"It's best to be early, rather than being late," Iida proclaimed. "I'd rather have someone be irritated that I was being a bit early than someone getting mad that I was late."

Mineta nodded. Iida had a good point, being early probably will cause a less angry reaction. "So, do we just wait like five minutes?"

Uraraka sweatdropped at the question. "That's what I was wondering, but I don't know if Deku is getting ready or not, I'm honestly a bit afraid to knock since we're here early." She rubbed the back of her head bashfully.

Mineta just shrugged. "I think we should wait, just in case he's getting something ready or something cleaned up."

Iida seemed to like the suggestion. "I agree, I think that we would not want to be rushed if we were in Midoriya's shoes right now."

And so they did, it was an awkward five minutes for the group, not having any topics to talk about. They either were lost in thought, or staring at their phone screen out of boredom. And one of them would occasionally sneeze every 30 seconds. Nothing really exciting happening, to Mineta's relief.

Because he was very much done with any sort of excitement at all, just from the past few days. He was hoping this would make him forget about this whole time travel stuff, if even for a moment. Right now he was standing with Iida, who had just put away his phone after shooting some family member a text. Uraraka seemed to be shuffling a bit nervously, no doubt anxious about being in Midoriya's home.

Finally losing his patience, Mineta lifted his hand to knock on Midoriya's door. He was pretty sure five minutes had passed, right? Well, he was about to find out either way, and he hoped that if he was wrong, Midoriya would not get too sour. But this was Midoriya, so the chances were in Mineta's favor either way since Midoriya didn't get mad easily. However, as Mineta's hand raised to knock, fate seemed to have a very different plan for him.

The plain looking door was suddenly aggressively swung open, surprising all three students. However, it was only able to open halfway, since a certain grape boy stood in it's way. Mineta cried out in pain as the door nailed him on his little forehead. A very audible **_thwunk _**could be heard as the door made contact with Mineta's skull. The force of the impact sent Mineta stumbling on the floor, as he clutched his head in agony. The door was quickly closed, and reopened just a little as a figure quickly squeezed out of the door.

Iida's eyes widened. "Mineta!"

Uraraka winced as she saw the door hit Mineta, knowing that had to hurt. "Ouch...Mineta, are you alright?"

"M-Mineta! I didn't mean to do that!"

Mineta was now acutely aware of a new voice now. He guessed it was Midoriya, since it was decidedly male. He didn't respond however, his normal breathing now reduced to hissing through his clenched teeth in pain. "Oh shi-...shoot, that hurts..." Mineta whispered out in pain. After roughly fifteen seconds of him hissing and clutching at his head, Mineta's eyes finally opened to concerned green ones.

"Mineta, are you alright?" Midoriya's expression was that of horror at what he had done. "I-I'm really sorry, Mineta! I heard you outside and I just thought that I making you guys wait, so I thought that I'd just open it so you didn't have to knock, I should of looked through the peekhole on my door before I opened it, I'm so sorry!"

Mineta just waved off his concerns as he held his head, a bit dazed. "Never start with the head, the victim gets all fuzzy." He giggled at his own little joke, to Midoriya's befuddlement.

"What?" The green haired boy said with a confused look on his face.

"Nothing. It's alright Midoriya, I should of just knocked earlier, it was rude of me just to wait out here." Mineta said, shaking his head of any dizziness. If you had asked him, he honestly knew that Midoriya was at fault here, but he knew better than anyone that a sad Midoriya was a beacon of tears, and Mineta did not want to see Midoriya cry. Making Midoriya cry was basically signing yourself up for Class A to execute you. Besides, the green haired boy obviously hadn't meant to do that.

He shook his head of the dizziness that was still there, and lifted himself up. "Well, this is your home, huh?" Mineta said, slyly changing the subject.

Midoriya nodded, a bit weirded out by Mineta's sudden cheerfulness, but a bit happier that the grape boy wasn't angry. "Oh, y-yeah! My mom's here, she's making us a meal!"

"That's rather nice of her Deku!" Uraraka exclaimed, a beaming smile on her face.

Midoriya smiled at Uraraka's optimism. "Y-yeah!" Midoriya's face was a little red now as he realized just how close the smiling girl was. "I-It was no biggie! Besides, it'll b-be more easier to st-study after we eat!"

"I agree!" Iida said. "A full stomach makes for a happy heart! Studying while in a better mood will most definitely make studying much easier for us!"

Midoriya seemed to be completely cheered up now, as if the whole "slamming the door into Mineta's head" situation had never actually happened. Mineta was fine with that though.

"W-well, we should go inside, no point in standing outside, heh heh!" Midoriya laughed nervously as he stepped inside into his home, beckoning for the others to follow. The others followed Midoriya into his home, where the scent of a home cooked meal assaulted their senses.

Uraraka's expression implied that she seemed to like what she was smelling though. "Wow Deku...that smells really good!" Uraraka said cheerfully.

Midoriya blushed. "Y-yeah, my mom's a great cook! I like Lunch Rush's cooking too, but my mom's home cooked meals..."

"Can't be beaten, right?" Mineta said with a smile, remembering how his own mother made meals for him, and sometimes would buy the expensive ingredients for his birthday meal. He didn't have many friends when he was younger, so he could relate to Midoriya and his affection for his mother.

The three guests walked into the dining room where chairs were set up neatly, with little white plates and bowls. Midoriya turned to the room where the scent of the food was the strongest. Mineta guessed it was the kitchen.

"Mom!" Midoriya called. "My friends are here!"

"I'll be a moment, sweetie!" A voice called from what was presumably the kitchen. Mineta noted it was a rather soft and friendly voice that was rather pleasant on the ears. Judging from the voice, Mineta definitely knew that she was a nice lady.

As they shuffled inside, Mineta frowned in thought. "Hey Midoriya?"

The green haired boy looked over. "Yeah?"

"I'm not mad about the door thing," Mineta began, "but why does your door swing outward? I thought house doors only swing inwards." Mineta said, scratching his head.

Midoriya had an embarrassed smile now. "Ah yeah, about that. It's temporary, our old door broke and we're using this one until we can buy a new one. We thought this would be a permanent replacement, only to find out the hinges were on the outside. So this is just temporary."

The students put their bookbags (which had their studying supplies), by the door after taking off their shoes. Although they were about to sit down, the voice halted their advance.

"I'm here, I'm here!" A hurried voice came out of the kitchen. Footsteps could be heard as a woman entered the dining room.

Midoriya looked at the approaching figure, and then back at his friends."Uh, this is my mom!" The green haired boy said with a smile on his face, gesturing towards the woman known as Inko Midoriya, or "Inko," walked out.

Mineta noted she was a rather short woman. She was a bit round, due her being a little chubby, but that just made her look more huggable in Mineta's opinion. Her face had a warm, friendly, affection smile. Her shining green eyes resembled Midoriya's, as well as her green hair. She was a spitting image of her son.

"Mom, meet my friends!" Midoriya said proudly, gesturing towards the students that stood in front of her. Midoriya pointed towards Uraraka, his crush. "This is U-Uraraka!"

The brown haired girl in question bowed, a smile on her face. "It's very nice you meet you Ma'am!"

Inko smiled. "A pleasure to meet you as well Uraraka! Such good manners!" Inko said, pleased at Uraraka's polite behavior. Her eyes lit up as she recognized Uraraka. "Oh, I remember you! I watched you in the Sports Festival! You put up a great fight against Katsuki."

Uraraka rubbed her head bashfully. "Ah...People still remember that," Uraraka said, recalling her humiliating defeat against the hot headed blonde. She didn't like to think about it. Student or not, she was not a big fan of Bakugo.

Inko seemed to understand she might of hit a sensitive spot for the brown haired girl. "Oh, I didn't want to bring up any unpleasant memories." Inko said, her face now showing regret, despite Uraraka's quick reassurance that it was "no biggie".

Midoriya then turned towards Iida. "That's Iida, he's one of the best students in my class!"

The bespectacled student smiled in pride at his high ranking in the class. He bowed in respect as well, although his bow was a big bigger."Greetings Mrs. Midoriya! You have my thanks for allowing us to enter your home!"

Inko closed her eyes and did a little curtsy, her smile growing. "You're very welcome! I know about you and you're family's hero work!" The green haired women gestured towards her son. "My little Izuku was a huge fan of your family when he was younger, I remember how he gushed over them!"

Midoriya covered his face while looking at the floor in embarrassment. "Mooooom..." Midoriya whined, obviously not wanting his mother to talk about his childhood.

Inko giggled, a warm smile on her face. "Alright honey. Didn't mean to embarrass you sweetie."

However, Iida seemed to stand even straighter. "I'm rather flattered Midoriya. I didn't know you held my family in such high regard." The bespectacled boy straightened his glasses. "My family aims to be inspirational to others, especially to the young minded!"

Inko shuffled a bit uncomfortably at the mention of his family. She glanced towards the floor with a sad expression on her face. "I'm sorry about your brother...I heard about it after it happened."

Iida looked at the floor, remembering his visit to his brother, and how his brother had given him the terrible news of his early retirement. He swallowed. "I...I appreciate your condolences." Iida's voice was surprisingly steady, although a bit quieter now than last time.

The room was deathly quiet now. Not a sound was heard, only the sizzling of Inko's cooking, reminding the woman that she was still cooking something. She straightened up, and her green eyes widened. "Oh! I have to get that! I'll be back in a moment!" Turning around, Inko hurried back into the kitchen.

Mineta's face was blank, as he hadn't been acknowledged by Midoriya's mother. "I'm also here too, by the way." Mineta blurted out sarcastically causing Uraraka to snicker at his subtle jab.

In response to his mother's sudden leave, Midoriya waved his hands. "Sorry! I don't think she noticed you..." His voice trailed off as he really couldn't say anything else.

Mineta however, shrugged it off. Even if he was a bit annoyed at not being seen by the woman, he honestly could see the humor in the situation. Being too short to be noticed by a short person was actually kind of amusing. He chuckled in amusement. "I'm sure she's just a bit frazzled." Mineta said with a smile on his face.

Laughing nervously, Midoriya rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, she can get like that sometimes, I should go help her finish her dish." The green haired boy turned and followed his mother into the kitchen, leaving his guests a bit bewildered at the sudden events that had transpired.

The sudden shift of tones left everyone a little baffled, until Mineta broke the silence. "Well, I think that went well enough, all things considered."

Uraraka still wore a small smile. "Yeah! It could of gone worse! I think it went pretty well too, Deku's mother is very nice!" She said cheerfully.

Iida hummed thoughtfully. "Yes. It appears it is never a dull moment in Midoriya's home, I'm sure of that."

"No kidding." Mineta said as they heard the clanking of dishes and pots coming from the kitchen as the two Midoriyas prepared the meal. Inko could be heard instructing Midoriya to give her certain spices and utensils. "Well, whatever they are making, smells pretty good!" Mineta said, backing the statement Uraraka made earlier.

Now it was awkward silence once more, Mineta having ran out of topics to discuss. Mineta went to pull out his phone to text Kaminari and Mina about how their studying was going, (No doubt if they answered, they would get scolded by Yaoyorozu for using their phones in the middle of a study session).

However, the savior from their boredom came in the form of a little woman named Inko Midoriya, with her son behind her. "Sorry about that!" Inko said. "I had to make sure it wasn't burning before it finished!" The short woman turned towards Mineta. "And I apologize for not noticing you, my thoughts are a bit scattered." Inko said as she leaned down a little, her face the same level as Mineta's.

The grape boy waved his hands. "No, it's okay! I kind of unintentionally placed myself behind them so it would probably be a bit difficult to spot me." Mineta wasn't kidding either, his small size made games like hide and seek laughably easy.

Midoriya stood by his mother as he gestured towards the grape boy. "Mom, this is Mineta!"

The purple boy in question smiled, and extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you miss!" Mineta said kindly.

Inko's smile somehow grew even larger at Mineta's gesture. "Aww, aren't you the cutest little thing!" She cooed, pinching Mineta's cheeks with her hands.

Although he was surprised, the boy simply lowered his arm and kept smiling, not bothered by her sudden act of affection. In his defense, he _did _look like a little kid in comparison to his classmates. Normally he'd get a bit flustered or annoyed at someone doing that... But it was the same issue as getting mad at Midoriya, it was just impossible to do. Inko was a pure soul, and a very nice mother. Midoriya could probably attest to that, seeing as he was one of the nicest people at UA.

Mineta settled for just smiling and let Inko be herself, not wanting the woman to feel bad. He did however make the mistake of attempting to speak as the woman pinched his cheeks. "Phank yu," Mineta attempted to thank her, but it sounded weird as his face was currently being squeezed by Inko.

Realizing the difficulty Mineta was having with speaking, Inko quickly released the grape haired boy from her grasp. "Sorry." She said sweetly, but her voice and her smile betrayed that she wasn't __too __sorry about it.

Mineta wouldn't hold it against her though, he personally found it hard to get mad at sweet mothers. "No problem. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Inko glanced towards the kitchen where her cooking meal was."Well, why don't we go to the living room? I've got 5 or 10 minutes until my meal is ready, so we could talk there." Inko suggested kindly.

"You don't sound very sure." Mineta said thoughtfully. "Aren't there instructions on the recipe stuff?"

Inko laughed. "Oh, there definitely are instructions, but I don't need the suggested times. I just eye it."

Mineta tilted his head. "Eye it?" He echoed in confusion.

"That's right," Inko said, winking at Mineta. "Call it Mother's intuition, I've been cooking long enough to know that kind of stuff, and when to know when it's ready. We got five-to-ten minutes until it's ready. Trust me, I know my cooking."

Mineta nodded, although a bit confused. He never really knew about "intuition" about cooking, but then again, he never really waltzed up to his mother while she cooked and asked if she had "read the directions". If he did, it'd probably earn him an odd look from her.

"But I agree with what she said earlier, we should go sit down!" Midoriya said, turning towards the living room. He beckoned the three students to follow him in. Mineta, Uraraka, and Iida followed the green haired boy to the couch and the extra chairs Inko had gotten out, just in case there wasn't enough seating for them. Mineta guessed from his behavior that he didn't get many guests.

"It's very nice to have finally met you kids," Inko said, sitting down herself after her guests were comfortably seated. "Izuku has told me so much about you kids and your class." Midoriya blushed a little in embarrassment. Inko smiled softly. "How's UA treating you kids?" Her voice, although kind, had a hint of worry in it.

Mineta had a good idea why though, with how UA's luck had seemingly gone rotten with all the villain attacks and dramatics in recent events. It had become a hot topic for drama articles and rumor magazines. News channels and papers had also had their piece of UA drama. He didn't blame her for her worrisome attitude on the subject. Lord knows what kind of rumors or theories Inko had heard.

"UA is a prime example of what all hero schools should be!" Iida said. "It's is the greatest Hero School in Japan!"

Uraraka nodded. "I think it's great! One of the best! I've learned so much, especially myself and how I can use my quirk, and so much about hero work!" Uraraka meant every word, and she got to meet a certain space themed hero as an added bonus to attending UA. She'd stay there forever if she could. Well, not forever, she had plans for her hero career, but she still loved being at that school.

"Yeah, I've learned a ton of stuff as well!" Mineta said gladly with a grin plastered on his face. He wasn't lying either, although it actually hadn't happened from a technical standpoint, the exams had inspired "Grape Rush", the move he used on Midnight, and the move he used on the villains. Although when he used it during the camp attack, he didn't yell "Grape Rush" since he was kind of trying to stealth attack them. __Stealth attack sounds like something from a video game, heh.__

"Yeah! My friends have definitely gotten stronger over these past few months!" Midoriya said, obviously proud of the progress his friends had made in developing and strengthening their quirks. "They've improved so much, and I have as well!" Midoriya was smiling again, although it appeared his mother was accustomed to his blinding smile.

Why, that's good to hear!" Inko said. "How are the teachers? Do they treat you fairly?"

Iida was about to go on another proclamation about UA, but Uraraka beat him to the punch. "The teachers are great! Having Pro Heroes as your own teachers is an amazing thing to experience!" She shuffled a bit, remembering a certain teacher. "Although Aizawa is actually pretty scary sometimes, and we see him the most out of all the other teachers."

Mineta nodded. "Yeah, if he's mad... that guy can get pretty terrifying, especially with those red eyes, eugh." Mineta shivered, remembering Aizawa's terrifying presence.

Iida hand twitched, as if it was tempted to start chopping. But the bespectacled student kept it under control, to Mineta's relief. "He's just doing what's best for us. Although he can seem rather cruel sometimes, Pushing us to our limits is the best way to quickly improve our quirks." He pushed up his glasses. "But I can agree, he can be rather intimidating with how he handles teaching."

Inko's eyebrows raised, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity. "He certainly sounds like a unique teacher. Is there any other teachers that are as notable as him?"

Mineta was _extremely _tempted to say "Midnight", but he'd probably get disapproving looks from basically everyone in the room.

Midoriya however, was content with voicing his opinion. "All Might is a great teacher!" Midoriya said cheerfully. His excited tone made Uraraka and Inko smile, who both were well aware of his admiration of the Number One Hero. "He's the best hero ever! He teaches us with Hero Basics, and we have training sessions, and sparring sessions, and heroes vs villain scenarios where one team are heroes, and the other are the villains! We get to fight and it's a cool way to learn about my classmates and their quirks!" Midoriya rambled on as his friends and mother listened, clearly amused at his adorable enthusiasm at the mention of All Might and UA in general.

"And I'm glad you like your school sweetie," Inko said. "I'm so proud that you got in UA. It's good to hear that it's everything you hoped for."

That earned her an enthusiastic nod from her son. "Yep! I don't regret going there!" Midoriya pumped his fist. "As long as I'm at UA, I'll always do my best!"

Uraraka nodded. "Yeah!" She said as Iida smiled and nodded in agreement.

Mineta however was more focused on Inko. He wasn't the smartest in the class sure, but that didn't mean he was an idiot. Although his friends were smiling and talking about their favorite school, Mineta was more focused on how Inko worriedly glanced at Midoriya.

More specifically, the ugly scars on his bare hands.

Midoriya also seemed to notice how his mother's smile was gone. "Mom?"

Inko just looked up, and gave a seemingly genuine smile. "Oh nothing honey, just have some things on my mind."

It wasn't genuine. Mineta himself had practice over time on acting. He knew a fake smile when he saw one. And something was __definitely __bothering Inko. Mineta knew better than anyone when someone was acting.

Inko glanced up towards the kitchen, her smile going down a little once more. "Oh, I have to finish that up, it's almost done. Mineta?"

Mineta glanced up in surprise at the woman who had a kind smile. She gestured for him to follow her. "Do you think you could give me a hand in the kitchen? I could use an extra pair of hands."

Even Midoriya looked up, caught of guard as well. "Oh, I can help with that Mom-"

"No, it's alright." Mineta said, waving off Midoriya's concerns. Whatever Inko was wanting, he wanted to know. Hesitantly getting up from his chair, Mineta reluctantly trailed after Midoriya's mother into the kitchen.

* * *

Inko watched as the small grape haired boy followed her into her kitchen, watching as he curiously looked around her kitchen. "Thank you for coming, I just needed some help," Inko said. "I'm an old woman, not as fast as I used to be."

Mineta frowned at her words in confusion. "But you're not old."

Inko let out a chuckle at that comment. "Izuku says the same exact thing. I can see why you get along with him so well."

The boy nodded thoughtfully. "Well, what exactly do you need help with?" Mineta looked at the hot meal on the stove top. "My height isn't exactly really the best for stuff like this if you need me to reach for spices or something or-"

"Actually," Inko began, cutting the boy off. "I needed your input on something that's been bothering me for a long time. Sorry for bringing you here, but I had to get your honest opinion."

Mineta, obviously confused, scratched his head in befuddlement. "If it's something like make-up or something, I don't really know a lot-"

Inko laughed. "Oh no honey, not that sort of thing, heavens no. It's more about UA."

Once more a confused expression was plastered on Mineta's face. "Well, UA is great, as I said before. I've learned-" Mineta trailed off when Inko's cheerful facade finally died.

The green haired woman rubbed her arm as she sighed. "I... I suppose I should be more honest. I asked you for a specific reason, Mineta. I originally wanted to talk to a teacher, but I wouldn't get the answers I truly wanted."

He shuffled uncomfortably, obviously nervous. Inko didn't want to stress the poor boy, but he was her best source for information on the matter. "You've just become friends recently with Izuku, is that correct?"

He froze, looking up at her with widened, shocked eyes. "How did you-"

"I'm sorry," Inko said. She felt slightly bad for cornering the boy. When her Izuku first came to UA, Uraraka and Iida were some of his first friends at UA. She remembered how happy he was when he came back from his first day, excitedly telling her about how he made friends, and just how nice it had been.

She almost cried at how happy her little boy was. The day he asked her if he could be a hero, and she cried and apologized to him over and over. The night ended with her embracing her baby, both of them having tears pooling out of their eyes.

But now, he had a quirk, and his seemingly impossible dreams were becoming a reality. All Might himself was a teacher at UA, and the #1 Hero was obviously Izuku's favorite. Izuku had probably never been happier, other than when he discovered that he had a lately developed quirk. And if she asked questions, Uraraka and Iida might be dodgy with their answers. She didn't blame them, they'd probably think they were protecting him. But she was his mother, and she needed to know what the students thought.

"You were with Izuku at the USJ attack, correct?" Inko said plainly, causing Mineta's eyes to widen again.

"Y-Yes ma'am." Mineta's voice shook a little as he spoke.

"Did it take long for the heroes to come and save you?" Inko's said, her voice holding no room for dodgy answers.

Mineta hesitated. "Well," Mineta said, scratching his head. "It definitely took longer than I would of liked." And he was honest about that too, the USJ attack was probably one of the worst experiences in Mineta's life. Well, one of the worst experiences. "I almost died."

Inko flinched from the comment, and took a deep breath. "Y-Yes, I'm aware of that. I'm glad Izuku loves UA, and his friends like him. But I never thought the attack would happen." Inko absentmindedly stirred at her food she cooking. "UA was Izuku's dream. And I felt horrible for not encouraging him once he got the letter of approval." She then gestured towards the living room, where Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida were conversing. "Do you see his hands?"

Mineta looked, and saw what she was talking about. Scars. Ugly scars on Midoriya's hand, from overuse of his quirk. Most people would probably notice them immediately upon meeting the green haired boy. "Yeah. I see them."

Inko continued, "UA is his dream, he obviously loves being there, but the longer he stays, the more he's getting hurt. I originally was so happy for him getting into UA. I cried from happiness when I found out he passed the entrance exams. But now, at least every month, something happens. He's broken more bones then he had during his entire childhood. He's hurting himself, and I don't know how much longer I can take it. My heart hurt every time I found out he managed to break another part of his arms or legs. You saw him in the Sports Festival, right?"

Another nod from the silent grape boy.

"It was one of the worst experiences of my life. As if coming to the hospital to see my baby boy hurt wasn't bad enough...I had to stare at my television and helplessly watch as my sweet little Izuku willingly destroyed his own body in his fight. It tore my heart in half to see his arms be completely destroyed." Inko's voice started to strain, as if she was trying not to cry. She sniffled. "The longer he stays in that school, the more he gets hurt."

Mineta's eyes widened, finally catching on to what she was saying. "Are you saying you're thinking about pulling Midoriya out of UA?"

Inko nodded, her eyes watering. "I've been considering it, yes. But I know if I did, Izuku would be devastated if I did. But I'd rather have him mad at me than..." She trailed off, not daring to even finish the sentence. She sniffled, and took a tissue from the table to wipe at her eyes. "I don't know what to do, I'm wanting to take him out for his safety."

Inko took a deep breath, trying to hold in a sob that threatened to break out. She knew if Izuku heard her crying, his instinct would kick in, and he'd rush into the kitchen to comfort her. "Do you think UA is capable of keeping my baby boy safe?" Inko whispered. "I'm not going to ask the teachers. I know how they can be when trying to convince a parent, especially how confident they can be in their system."

* * *

After hearing that, Mineta realized the other reason why Inko had chosen him. Mineta hadn't been friends with Midoriya as long Uraraka or Iida had, and their answers might be biased for Midoriya's sake. Mineta couldn't blame them though, they cared greatly for their green haired friend. And also they weren't with Midoriya on the boat during the USJ attack. Inko must have read the police report, so she had done her research.

Inko continued, "Do you think that the teachers there can keep my son safe? In your personal experience, do you think they care capable of protecting their students?"

Mineta began to panic a little on the inside. Ever since the first camp attack, he had small doubts about the teachers ability to protect them. But those traitorous thoughts were always quickly stomped out. "But, all the other students were at the USJ too!" Mineta said, his voice a little desperate. "My mom hasn't pulled me out!"

"But Izuku had injuries from the encounter," Inko countered. "If you were hurt like my little Izuku has at his time at UA, what do you think your mother would say? What would she want?"

Her words stopped any arguments that Mineta had. Midoriya's mother had a solid point. He imagined his own mother, and her distraught reaction if he'd been scarred and injured like Midoriya. "She...she'd want me out of UA."

Inko nodded, seemingly a little satisfied that she'd gotten him to see her side of the story. "Do you think the teachers can make sure the students are safe then? Do you feel safe at UA?"

Mineta wanted to reassure her, tell her that she had nothing to worry about. But as he thought about it, his own experiences in UA stopped him. The attack at USJ was an awful experience, but it didn't compare to dying and waking up. He remembered crying the first time, fully convinced that it just had to be a nightmare. It just _had _to be. Only to find out he was dead wrong. And he was fully aware that there was to be an attack on the summer camp. Midoriya would be in danger. Well, everyone would be in danger obviously.

"Please don't lie to me." Inko said.

It was a simple plea. She wanted to know what he thought truthfully. Mineta knew she must of seen the conflict on his expression. Should he lie? Or tell her the truth?

"I..." Mineta began, but hesitated. If he told her the truth, it might have irreversible consequences. But the poor woman was wanting at least _some _kind of answer. Midoriya had been blissfully unaware that as he went to school, that his mother was considering pulling him out. But she deserved an answer. So he gave it to her. "No. I don't think they'll be able to keep him safe." Mineta said.

Inko's stern look died. She grabbed another tissue, wiping at her eyes once more. "I understand." Inko said, taking a deep breath in, trying to steady her breath, although she ended up failing. She sniffled again. "Thank you for being honest." Her voice shook with emotion, sounding close to borderline crying.

Mineta however, wasn't finished. He quickly shook his head. "I wasn't finished."

Inko looked up, slightly confused at his comment. "What do you mean?"

Mineta glanced at Midoriya. "I don't think he'll _need _the teachers to protect him. You read what happened at the USJ, right?"

Inko nodded. "Yes, Izuku, the police, and the teachers filled me in on what happened. News sites were swarming the topic." She stirred her spoon in the pot nervously.

Taking that as a sign to keep going, Mineta continued, "Did Midoriya tell you that he saved my life?"

Inko's eyes widened with surprise. Her little Izuku hadn't said anything about saving them. "No, he didn't."

Mineta kept going. "Well, he did. I was on a boat, scared out of my mind, just a sniveling little coward. I was convinced we were going to die. It was me, Midoriya, and..."

He trailed off, not knowing what to call Tsuyu. Inko probably had no idea who the frog girl was, and he didn't know if Tsuyu considered him a friend. "Another classmate. We were stuck on the boat, and we were surrounded by villains. We were essentially cut off from any help from other classmates. I was crying, scared out of my mind. I was basically useless in the situation, until Midoriya came up with a plan. He utilized all of our quirks, and we managed to defeat the villains. After that, we got attacked by more, and Midoriya risked his life to save me and my classmate." Mineta winced, remembering how the Nomu and the hands dude tried to kill them. Midoriya was ready to give his life to protect them, and Mineta would never forget that. "If you had pulled Midoriya out before the USJ attack I would be dead."

Mineta remembered it as clear as day, how they all crouched on the deck of the boat. How Mineta himself started crying from terror, blubbering on about how useless his quirk was, the situation seemed hopeless. How could they win? They were hopelessly outnumbered. It was three heroes in training versus an entire squad of murderous, bloodthirsty villains. All odds were against them.

But Midoriya just smiled, had that heroic glint in his eyes, and came up with a plan that actually worked. Mineta remembered how amazing it felt when he saw his grapes actually able to trap the villains. He was useful! He remembered how some people poked fun at him, saying that he would never be able to get into UA, especially with his quirk. Even though he proved them all wrong, he still didn't feel very confident about himself, or his quirk. Until UA. He saw that he could be a hero.

Inko seemed to physically recoiled from Mineta's bluntness about him dying, and how little he seemed bothered at the idea of him dying.

Mineta went for the bullseye. "Midoriya is probably one of the best students in our class, although he isn't scoring the highest educational wise, his probably the most likely candidate to become a Pro Hero. Midoriya saved. My. Life."

Mineta stopped when he saw Inko's shocked expression. Her hands were over her mouth.

"Miss Midoriya?"

His words shook Inko from her stupor. "He, he really is a hero, isn't he?" Inko finally said through her tears. She had a smile, although it had a bit of sadness in it. She looked back into the living room, where Izuku was laughing with his friends, and talking about heroes and quirks. "He never told me he personally saved you." Inko wiped away more stray tears. "Of course he wouldn't. My little Izuku is sometimes too humble for his own good. Thank you for telling me Mineta."

The grape haired boy felt a swelling feeling in his chest. _Was that pride? _Mineta's reward for his honesty came in the form of free headpats from Inko, which he gladly accepted.

She glanced at the meal on the stove. "It's almost ready, you should go with your friends. I already ate, so I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."

Mineta turned and started walking towards his friends, but was stopped by Inko.

"And Mineta?"

The grape haired boy looked behind him.

Inko smiled softly. "Thank you for your honesty."

Mineta smiled and gave a thumbs up.

* * *

"Ah, hey Mineta!" Midoriya called to the returning grape haired boy. "Sorry if you didn't want to help, I uh, didn't think she'd ask you for help, and we were-"

What was with the Midoriyas and their apologizing? Sure, it was adorable, but sometimes it felt like they _tried _to make you feel bad. That obviously wasn't the case however. If you told Izuku that you thought he was trying to make you feel bad, he'd just apologize again. It'd be an endless cycle. So Mineta just smiled and accepted his apology. "No biggie, you're mother is a very nice woman."

Midoriya seemed relieved at nonchalant attitude. "Oh, that's good. I'm guessing it's almost ready?" The grape haired boy nodded. Midoriya smiled in response, "I think we should move to the dining room."

The four UA students all were nicely seated, and to Inko's credit, her food was actually amazing. It reminded Mineta of his own mother's cooking.

"Vis if gweat!" Uraraka said, mouth full of food. Her expression could be only described as complete bliss. Inko's cooking was not something to underestimate, Iida, Uraraka, and Mineta could attest to that. The brown haired girl felt slightly envious that Midoriya got to have homecooked meals _this _good.

Since Inko already ate, she had seated herself in the living room while the children enjoyed her cooking.

Midoriya was going to say something, but stopped. He saw as Mineta sat blankly, not taking anymore bites of his food. "Mineta? You ok?"

Mineta looked up. "Y-yeah, I was just lost in thought." Midoriya nodded his head in understanding. "What's on your mind?" Midoriya said.

Mineta simply looked up. "Do you know anything about time travel?"

* * *

****Below me once more is from the original draft, and since it has to do with replying to reviews, I'm keeping it here. Including the large paragraph explaining this chapter. I changed some sentences once more, and separated the run on paragraphs to make it look neater. If you enjoyed, please Review/Follow/Fav! Cya****

****Mineta learns that he isn't the only one trying to protect people. Writing Inko is a ton of fun, she's so innocent and pure, (And huggable!) One of my headcanons is that she can read people pretty easily, mothers instinct. Which is why she asked Mineta about this, she knew he wasn't just a childish kid. ALSO the other reason why she asked a student instead of a teacher is because the teachers weren't there at the beginning of the USJ attack, other then the ones that were there already. She wanted to know how safe the student's thought they would be. And if she started confronting the teachers, Midoriya might find out, and...you know. Drama. Inko wasn't completely ready to take Izuku out of UA, just heavily considering it as you saw. As you noticed, this was a dialogue heavy chapter, but it was an excuse to put Inko in the story. And yes, I'm finally back after all this time. It wasn't the greatest week at the camp, and when I got back and started on the chapter, I got a horrible crick in my neck, making moving my neck complete agony. You can imagine it didn't help for writing as I sat in front of a computer. To make things worse, I lost a follower or two. Because you guys are helping me keep going with this story, that hit me pretty hard. But I'm thankful for anyone else who's still here with me, favorite/follow/reviewers. I'm glad you're here. I'm once again sorry that this is mostly filler, I hope you guys understand. Also anyone else get that reference near the start? I had a good chuckle writing it. Also, if you're wondering why I was being so vague about what dish Inko was making, is because I know little to none about Japanese foods and culture, and I'm not going to pretend that I do. So sorry about that. Alrighty, time to answer reviews!****

* * *

Ickarium chapter 20 . Jun 2

****Oh, my bad. I don't know much about that guy, or what Re:Zero even is. But time powers are always nice in fiction, most of the time! Let's hope it won't be as grim!****

Crimson Revenant chapter 20 . Jun 2

****I tried to develop him a bit more in this chapter as well! And yeah, seeing Mineta being bashed just because people don't like him is kind of dumb. I'm glad you enjoyed it.****

fencer29 chapter 20 . Jun 2

****Yeah, Mandela effect is an odd thing. I don't know myself if it will be a plot point, we'll just see how the story develops! And I didn't mean to hate on your review style, I appreciate criticism, it helps develop my writing story. I hope to see you next time.****

Kai Dragoon chapter 20 . Jun 3

****We'll just have to see! I got stuff planned, and it's gonna be something. I can't say much without spoiling it.****

bajy chapter 20 . Jun 3

****Thanks, I'm glad you're looking forward to more.****

Echonic chapter 20 . Jun 3

****Yeah, I look kind of dumb now don't I? Sorry about that, to you and Ickarium, XD If I get the time, I might. Is it on Hulu or Netflix or any streaming service for that matter I wonder.****

Uniquebooks chapter 20 . Jun 3

****I'm trying my best, believe me.****

The Keeper of Worlds chapter 20 . Jun 3

****Thank you lots, man! I'm very happy to see you're pumped for more! Cuz I am as well!****

Guest chapter 20 . Jun 3

****That's one of my main ideas with this story, other than story progression is developing Mineta and how using his second quirk changes him, for better or worse, we have yet to see. Thank you for reading my story!****

Perran Onh chapter 20 . Jun 5

****All you had to do was follow the damn train, Mineta!****

B312 chapter 20 . Jun 8

****Glad to hear you enjoy this! I think it isn't the best, but I'm thankful that some people like this story.****

Tom chapter 20 . Jun 6

****Thanks for the rather beefy review man! I'd like to clarify something. It does NOT branch into a bad timeline permanently after Mineta dies. It's just his quirk doesn't immediately take effect upon death. You know how when you're trying to sleep, and you finally conk out? There's this unexplainable amount of time between falling asleep and waking up? It is why Mineta "Wakes up" after he dies. It's because his quirk has taken effect. It's why I only write a few paragraphs of their reactions to Mineta's death, as it takes some time for his quirk to take effect. There's little chance that'll change, but I don't know how to even develop that other type of spin off story for "Alternate Universes". So for now, Mineta's quirk rewinds time. No alternate universes. And I do agree, some of the stuff they do to Mineta just because they hate him is really messed up. On the archive of our own website, there's multiple tags where "Mineta doesn't exist" or some shit like that. I know they don't like him, but really?****


	22. Table Talk

**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 22**

**Table Talk**

* * *

**Mineta asks Midoriya about his knowledge on a specific type of quirk.**

* * *

"Eh?" Midoriya said, mouth full of white rice. He quickly chewed it and swallowed before continuing, "Uh, what about time travel?" He almost stopped eating when Mineta asked that question. Out of all the things that could come out of Mineta's mouth, _time travel _was not a very likely candidate.

Uraraka and Iida seemed a bit surprised at his words as well. "Fime frafel?" Urarka said, still not having swallowed her rice. Iida gave Mineta a confused look. "That is a rather...odd topic to bring up Mineta." Iida frowned as he looked down at his food, now deep in thought.

Mineta, now noticing that he had seemingly turned the originally cheerful mood into pure utter confusion, rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Eh, sorry for the sudden question, nevermind. I didn't mean to change the topic so quickly."

The green haired boy waved his hands quickly before Mineta could end the conversation. "No, no. It's just, that was completely out of left field. I just wasn't expecting...well, that." He scratched his head. "Uh, may I ask why we're talking about time travel?"

"Well..." Mineta rubbed his wrists absentmindedly. "Do you think time travel could be a quirk?" _If anyone knows about quirks, it's Midoriya. _

Midoriya's eyes widened at the question. "A quirk?" Midoriya's voice had a hint of surprise, and a touch of disbelief.

"Yeah. A quirk. Do you think time travel could be a quirk?" Mineta quickly said.

Surprisingly, Mineta's voice had no tone of sarcasm, which Midoriya wasn't expecting. "Uh, I don't know. I don't think there's ever been a quirk that can controls time."

Iida looked over to Mineta with a slight frown. "Mineta, may I ask why you're suddenly interested in this topic? I've never heard you mention it before."

Mineta's expression could be compared to a kid when he gets caught with his hand in a cookie jar when Iida spoke. "Well, I uh..." The grape boy seemed to have a nervous grin. "Alright, well you got me. Recently I've been getting into quirk study, I think quirks are something I should probably study more, as long as I'm in UA."

* * *

As he quickly fibbed, Mineta felt guilt resonate in his chest. Lying was becoming even easier the more he did it. When he stopped to think about, it disturbed him how _natural_ it felt now. A few seconds ago he was a tad bit nervous since they were being suspicious of him, but then he just came up with an excuse to cover up his anxious behavior. It felt wrong how _smoothly_ he was able to conjure that lie up. But either way, lying worked in his favor. But hopefully he wouldn't have to do it for much longer.

Midoriya tilted his head. "Are you saying you're interested more in studying quirks outside of school?" To Mineta's surprise, Midoriya's voice had a tinge of what seemed to be excitement? He nodded in response. "Y-yeah. Do you know anything much about quirks?"

Midoriya's face seemed to light up. "Of course I do! I love studying and analyzing quirks." He paused, rubbing the back of his head. "Before my quirk developed, I loved the study of quirks, I wrote a lot about it in my journal!"

Mineta raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Journal?" _Like a diary?_

Nodding excitedly, Midoriya continued. "Yeah! I have a notebook full of heroes and their quirks! It's my hero analysis for the future! Want to see it?"

Mineta looked a bit bewildered. He didn't expect Midoriya to excitedly go off like that. "Uhh, sure?"

And just when he thought Midoriya couldn't surprise him anymore, the green haired boy shot up from his seat and bolted away. "U-uh, Midoriya?" Mineta asked, caught completely off guard at the green haired boy's sudden departure. He turned to the other two students for guidance, but they had befuddled expressions on their faces as well. "Well," Mineta began, "That uh, happened."

Uraraka scratched her head. "Yeah..." She wasn't expecting for Midoriya to suddenly bolt off.

If one sudden disappearing Midoriya wasn't random enough, Inko seemed to almost materialize in the dining room, a worried expression on her face. "Why did Izuku run off, did something happen?"

Mineta just shrugged. "He said something about a hero journal, then took off."

After looking towards the direction Midoriya went, Inko's mouth curved upwards. Amusement twinkled in her green eyes. "Oh, that old thing. Before his quirk developed, Izuku loved to write and analyze quirks. He's showed me multiple times, he's rather proud of it." Inko laughed softly. "It's his pride and joy."

Inko hummed, remembering when her Izuku was just a little boy, how he'd scribble on pieces of paper and have little drawings of what his hero costume would be. He'd run up to her, jumping and squeaking about his "Hero Costume". Crude drawings of course, given his age, but that didn't stop him. She'd knew from the start Izuku would always chase his dreams, no matter what.

And her day got better when she saw that her little Izuku had made so many friends. Her heart had swelled with pride earlier today.

* * *

Uraraka honestly thought Deku having a little hero journal was just adorable. Deku would always get excited when you asked him about quirks or Pro Heroes. It reminded her of the little kids she would always see, just so excited about heroes and watching them kick the villains butts, and save the day. Deku was probably one of those kids when he was younger. Well, technically he still was, and Uraraka was perfectly fine with that. Other than Deku acting like... well, Deku, she was not expecting her week of school to go in this direction. Mineta suddenly completely changing on a flip of a dime, being in Deku's house for a study session, and to be served _amazing _home cooked meals, better than her own cooking, that was for sure. But still, it was a bit strange. For Mineta to go from a perverted cocky brat, to a rather polite and encouraging student. She _definitely _preferred this new Mineta. Though, it was still strange. She'd ask about it later though, since they were apparently about to see Deku's hero journal, which in all honesty sounded pretty cool!

As Inko walked off to sit in the living room, Uraraka heard pattering footsteps quickly headed in their direction. She turned to see Deku jogging up with what looked like a burnt journal. _That looks oddly familiar..._

"Th-This is my hero journal!" Deku said proudly as he held the beat up book to Uraraka first. "R-Remember it?" He smiled and showed the cover and a few pages, awaiting her response.

Uraraka widened her eyes. "Oh right! I remember this! Didn't you show me this at the Sports Festival?" She briefly recalled sitting with him in the stands, and how he proudly showed it to her. The boy nodded, ecstatic that she'd remembered from all those weeks back.

Mineta however seemed confused, as if he'd never seen it before. "What's that thing?"

Shooting him a confused look, Uraraka pointed a thumb at the book. "Weren't you there when he showed me that? I'm pretty sure you and Tsuyu were sitting behind us in the stands..."

Mineta titled his head. "I was?"

His hesitant answer caused her to frown. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you were there, you sat right behind us with Tsuyu. We talked sometimes while the fights happened." She looked over to Deku. "Weren't they with us?"

Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, Uraraka is right! Me and her sat in front of you."

Satisfied with his answer, she turned back to Mineta. "You do remember the Sports Festival, right?"

Mineta looked at her with what was probably the blankest face Uraraka had ever seen. "Uh, sure?"

* * *

It felt like so long ago. The sports festival felt like it happened a year ago, at least for Mineta. With him trying to pull through this new timeline, days begun to feel like weeks. Only now when Uraraka had inquired about the Sports Festival did he remember just how damn long ago it felt. In their eyes the festival was a month or two ago. It was all just a blur to him now. Whenever he attempted to think about it, it felt like he was trying to remember a faint dream. He only remembered one second of the dream, and the rest was lost to oblivion. He squeezed his eyes shut. _Dammit! Why is it so hard to remember?_ He clenched his fists in silent fury, completely oblivious to his friends sitting by him.

"Mineta? Are you alright?"

Opening his eyes, Mineta saw Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida looking at him with slightly concerned expressions. He stumbled over his words, "Wh-what?" _How much did they see? Was I spacing out again? _"I-I'm fine. Sorry, was deep in thought again."

His friends however did not look too convinced. Midoriya was looking at him with concerned eyes, Uraraka had a worried frown, and Iida had an indifferent expression. "Mineta," Iida started, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Y-Yeah." Mineta managed to say, subtly putting his hands under the table before they started to shake.

"How's about that book though? What's in it?"

Looking at the book, Midoriya seemed to quickly forget about previous events that happened a few seconds ago, as he started to smile. "It's got everything I learned about Heroes and their quirks!" He opened to a random page as he held the book out to Mineta. "Like this one!"

Mineta leaned to take a look at the inside of the book, and had to hold in a chuckle as he saw a hasty scribble of Mt. Lady. _What are the odds? _"Can I read it?"

"Sure!" Midoriya said as he handed the book to Mineta.

As his little hands held the journal, Mineta scanned over the drawing to see that Midoriya had writings about Mt Lady's quirk, including strengths and weaknesses. "Wow," Mineta managed to blurt out, "This is very... educational?"

"Educational?" Uraraka said with a raised eyebrow, confused at Mineta's odd choice of wording. She had thought it was pretty cool, but educational? She never thought of it that way.

"Sorry, odd wording," Mineta said quickly. He turned back to Midoriya. "But it's really neat you put time and effort into this!"

Midoriya smiled happily, his smiling getting a bit blinding once more. "Thanks! I'm very proud of it!" He glanced at an empty page, then to Mineta and Iida. "Do you guys want a analysis?" He took the book back from Mineta. "I already made one for Uraraka!" Midoriya said as he pointed to the empty page, not noticing Uraraka blushing slightly at the mention of her page.

"Uh," Mineta started. He shook his head, remembering what he had asked earlier. "Yeah, later though. I was wondering if we could get back to the original topic?"

Midoriya had a blank expression, indicating that he had obviously forgotten what they were talking about earlier. "What were we talking about?"

Restraining his urge to make some sort of sassy one liner, Mineta simply smiled. "I was asking you about time travel." _Finally getting back on track. I forgot how easy for it is to get distracted with a slight change to the original topic._

"Oh right," Midoriya chuckled bashfully. "You wanted to know if it was a quirk?"

"Right on," Mineta chirped. "You know any quirks with time travel?" Mineta had crossed his fingers, Midoriya was probably the smartest person he knew when it came to knowledge to quirks, and the journal he saw just a few minutes earlier just boosted his theory. Hopefully he'd get some answers now.

Midoriya held a pencil that Mineta hadn't noticed earlier. "Well, I don't think there had been any time quirks in existence. Not ones with time travel, maybe ones that slow down time for one, but never time travel."

"Well, what kind are you thinking about?" Uraraka said as she began to chow down on her food, as it had gotten a little too cool for her liking while they talked. "There's different types of time travel, right?" She used her tongue to get a bit of rice that had stuck to her cheek. "At least, there are different types in fiction."

Iida nodded as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That is a good point, but with quirks, anything is possible. For a simple concept as time travel, it has a surprising amount of variety. Although I have never seen or heard of a time travel quirk in real life, there's always different types that could theoretically exist." He glanced towards Uraraka. "Which types of time control did you have in mind?"

Uraraka twirled her hair with her finger. "Well, there's a lot." She looked over to Midoriya. "Deku, do you think you could write this down? I don't think I'll be able to remember all of this later." Once the boy nodded, she turned back to Iida and Mineta. "Well, the ones I've seen in fiction n' stuff, there's a lot. There's the classic type of time travel where the person or machine stands completely still and disappears to the future or the past, but in the same position."

"Like The Time Machine?" Iida inquired in surprise, "That's an ancient book, I'm surprised you read older literature like that Uraraka."

Uraraka shrugged innocently with a small smile. "Hey, just because I'm younger doesn't mean I can appreciate the older stuff. It's better than half of what's on television nowadays." She shuddered. "Especially the reality shows."

Mineta put a hand to his mouth as if he was trying not to throw up. "Oh no, please don't remind me." He had to suppress a shudder of his own. "Especially The Quirk Leeches."

Confused, Midoriya tilted his head curiously. "Leeches? Quirk? What are you guys talking about?" Midoriya was completely lost when he had heard "drama tv show". He had ignored drama television since he was a kid. The topic of drama and scripted drama bored him, and he was content to watch All Might punch villains. Even when he did give it a try, his mother had made sure that he wouldn't watch it, informing him that it was "poisonous to his young mind". He really couldn't complain either, since he trusted his mother's judgment. Although he was slightly concerned that the mention of it seemed to sicken his friends. "Is it bad? What's it about?"

Urarka scoffed in disgust. "Ugh. It's a stupid show about how the children of popular Pro Heroes are apparently 'hand fed' an easy life and they're 'leeches to society'. It's dumb." Her apt description made Midoriya frown, obviously not liking what he was hearing.

"I can relate with your disgust for that show," Iida said as he played with his food. "Fans of that show like to target people such as me." He clenched his fist, remembering his encounter with more rude citizens. "Even if I'm doing my best to become a good hero, it doesn't seem to please the followers of that show. I've been harassed more than once in public, even during broad daylight."

His words caused Mineta to blow a raspberry, disgusted at the idea of people harassing Iida just because of his bloodline. _Ugh, those people sound like total tools._ "Huh. I bet people like Stain would get a kick out of that show." He blurted out bluntly.

Upon the mention of the blood villain, Iida and Midoriya glanced at the floor, their expressions falling immediately. Mineta eyes widened as he remembered what happened during the Nomu attack. Both Midoriya and Iida almost got killed by Stain. It was thanks to Endeavor stopping the blood villain that the UA students survived the encounter. Mineta was hit with a massive wave of guilt. _Shit! Forgot that they met Stain up close and personal. Please tell me I didn't trigger some PTSD or something._ Mineta desperately waved his hands when he noticed their discomfort. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to bring up any bad memories." He mentally slapped himself. _Didn't I say something about thinking before thinking?_

Thankfully, Midoriya caught on to Mineta's guilty expression. He put a hand up. "No, don't worry about it." Midoriya quickly said before the grape haired boy could scold himself any further, "Just, it makes me uncomfortable. I'm not a big fan of the name."

"Agreed," Iida chimed in as he picked at his food. "Unpleasant memories."

Now the air had gotten awkwardly quiet, now with the mood seemingly completely killed thanks to Mineta's snarky commentary. Midoriya's cheerful expression was gone, and Iida had a slight frown. Mineta felt like slamming his head against the table. _Good job Mineta. Someone end my misery please._

However, Uraraka came to save the day. "Mineta, uh, weren't we talking about time travel? I had a few other ideas."

Her intrusion made Mineta want to cry with joy. _Thank you Uraraka! _"Yeah, we were talking about time travel." _Well, we WERE, because we get so easily distracted. It's like we all have the attention span of a goldfish._ He glanced at the journal Midoriya still held in his hands. "Well, what other types of time travels are you thinking of?"

Uraraka smiled, also glad that they were back to the original topic. She turned to Midoriya. "Well, we already discussed the 'Time Machine' type of time travel, there's also the type where the machine stands still, but teleports to a new location."

"Yeah," Mineta began. "I remember an old tv show where I think it was a phone booth was a time machine? And the guy who piloted it was some sort of immortal?" He scratched his chin absentmindedly. "No! Wait. I think he glowed and changed faces whenever he died?"

Uraraka nodded quickly. "Bingo! And he could travel anywhere, but it could also just teleport without traveling in time too." She looked over to Midoriya with a soft smile. "Deku, do you have any theories?" The green haired boy however was deep in thought, journal in hand. He was tapping his chin with the pencil he had in his hand, completely oblivious to Uraraka. He had started to ramble again. She tapped his shoulder in an attempt to snap him out of it. "Deku?"

"Eh?" Midoriya quickly said, now realizing that Uraraka was tapping him. "O-Oh, s-sorry! It's just..." He used his pencil to point at his journal. "I'm thinking about possible quirks with time travel. But since it's never been recorded in history, it's all up to speculation." He turned to a blank page in his book. "But there's a difference to what you guys had been saying."

"May I ask what it is Midoriya?" Iida inquired.

In response, Midoriya held up a finger as if to make a point. "You guys are talking about devices or technology that can travel in time. What's got me thinking is _quirks_ that have time travel, not machines."

_That_ had piqued Mineta's interest. He had wanted to know from the start what Midoriya's theory was on time travel quirks, and it seemed his patience was going to pay off. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well," Midoriya started. "There's a lot of possibilities, all things considered. Perhaps there is the teleporting ability also with time travel. And also the ability to manipulate time too." As he scribbled down on his paper, he seemed to light up. "But, there could be more realistic quirks that have to do with time." He turned to look at Iida. "You have a speed quirk, but it only makes you faster because of your engines. Someone could have a quirk that also makes them faster, but it could be a quirk that slows time for them. There could also be a quirk that slows someones _perception _of time. It's not time traveling from a technical standpoint, but it's more probable then time travel."

Iida hummed as he stroked his chin. "Very true with that statement. A quirk slowing someone's perception of time sounds more realistic." To Mineta's surprise, Iida turned to him instead of Midoriya. "Did you have an idea? You originally brought up the topic of time travel, do you have any theories or ideas?"

_Oh. Looks like I'm on the spotlight then. _Putting on a quick smile on his face, Mineta shuffled in his seat. He licked his lips nervously. "Well, I did have an idea. It's kinda dark though..." He gestured towards his three friends. "Compared to your ideas, at least." _Considering the fact that dark idea is reality._

Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida shared a rather unsure look. "Uh," Midoriya started. "What do you mean by dark?" He stopped writing in his journal and looked at Mineta inquisitively. "You don't mean like, something bad, right?"

Mineta chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, maybe?" _Oh boy, am I going to kill the mood again? Maybe I have a third quirk where I can kill the mood in any room I walk into. _"I won't say it, if you guys don't want to hear it."

"Well," Uraraka said. "I think it'll be okay, as long as it's not too bad." She turned her head to Midoriya, "Right Deku?"

Her words feel on deaf ears, as Midoriya seemed to be troubled upon hearing Mineta's words. He fiddled with the pencil in his fingers as he considered his answer. "Right." He glanced at Mineta. "It's just...what about a time travel quirk that could be dark?" He began to mutter once more. "well, there is the possibility of having negative effects if you risked interacting with your past family members, and the theory that even slightly changing past events could completely alter the persons timeline..." Midoriya scratched his cheek with his pencil. "And the theory where even changing something very minuscule, such as someones order for food, could change the events of the timeline."

Whatever Mineta was going to say, he completely forgot once Midoriya started thinking out loud. He tried to intervene. "Uh..."

"But there's also the possibility where the traveler intervenes again to fix his mistake, thus saving him from disappearing from existence, like in Back to The Future."

"Back to The Future!" Mineta suddenly exclaimed loudly, startling everyone at the table. "I was thinking about that movie for so long, but I could never actually remember the name! Thanks Midoriya!" Only when Mineta stopped did he notice the odd looks from his friends. He rubbed the back of his head bashfully, realizing he just interrupted Midoriya. "Oh, sorry, heh heh. Just had to get that out." _If there's any crickets, now would be the time to start chirping._

Waving Mineta's apologies off, Midoriya smiled. "Oh, that's ok!" He stopped smiling and his lips pressed into a thin line. "Besides, I was kind of rambling, I think. What was your idea for time travel?"

_Well..._ Mineta thought. _Here goes nothing... _

He took a deep breath in, and looked at Midoriya. "Well, my idea is a time travel quirk, but it's activated by the person dying."

Iida stopped eating his rice.

Uraraka raised both her eyebrows in surprise.

Midoriya gawked in shock at Mineta's words. After a few solid seconds of him just staring in surprise at Mineta, the boy shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Um," he started calmly. "Do you think you could elaborate?"

_Well, the reaction, could have been worse. _Mineta thought to himself as he stared back at the confused boy sitting by him. He had expected a more of a negative reaction, so he settled for accepting what he got. "I shouldn't of worded it so bluntly," Mineta said as he laughed awkwardly. "I mean like, say what if someone died, but wakes up a few weeks in the past instead of dying? For every time they die actually, they go a few weeks back?"

Midoriya turned to the next page as he nodded thoughtfully. "If they die? And that's the only way that person could use their quirk? No other means, is that right?"

"Yeah," Mineta said calmly, stretching his arms and legs. "Basically that. The person would have to die in order for their quirk to come into effect."

His explanation caused Uraraka to widen her eyes. "That's kinda morbid Mineta, no offense." She shot a glance at Midoriya's journal, and her eyebrows scrunched up. "Why do you think the person dying would be required for them to use their quirk?"

Mineta began to sweat a little. "Well..." He averted his gaze and stared at the floor. "Just, a theory."

The other three Class A students looked at Mineta, making the boy even more nervous. _Okay, I don't have an excuse for this. C'mon brain, you can't just go blank on me now!_

He was now aware of Iida, who was looking at him with a rather indifferent expression on his face. "Mineta," Iida began, "have you been getting into fiction that has this sort of thing?"

Mineta stared at him with a very blank expression, too shocked to even express his surprise. _Holy shit, I think you just gave me my cover up! Thanks Iida!_ He immediately recovered his smile and nodded affirmatively at Iida. "Actually, I have! How did you know?"

Iida adjusted his glasses. "I've read some manga with something similar to that, not much mind you, but it's an enjoyable read. I prefer to use my freetime for studying though."

Mineta resisted the urge snicker in amusement._ Not surprising when it comes to you Iida. _"I read a book with it, but I forgot the name and author." He pointed at Midoriya's hero journal. "It's just when I started getting into studying that the idea popped up in my head."

Iida slowly nodded. "Mmm. That makes sense I suppose." Iida looked at Midoriya, who was scribbling down in his notes again. "Midoriya, do you have any ideas how a quirk like that could work? Well, hypothetically, of course."

Midoriya hummed as he fiddled with the pencil in his hand. "Well, we already know that a quirk like that has never existed, and the possibility of a time travel quirk being similar to that of a power from older fiction is very low."

"So you're saying it's impossible?" Uraraka piped, tilting her head as her chocolate eyes were glued to Midoriya's face.

"It's highly unlikely," Midoriya corrected her softly as he tapped the eraser on the paper. "Although, many years ago something as simple as a glowing baby was seen as completely impossible, but look where we are now. So many different quirks exist now. I can't say it's impossible, but I can say that a quirk that manipulates time is one of the few quirks that likely will never exist."

Mineta cursed under his breath. "So, are you saying that you really have no idea how it would work?"

The green haired boy nodded as he stared at the scribbling in his journal. "Yeah. It's a quirk that hasn't and probably won't exist. There's so many possibilities and theoretical types of quirks with time travel." He had a rather dopey grin as he looked at Mineta. "Oh, I-I'm sorry if you're disappointed. It's just I really don't specialize in non existent quirks."

Mineta simply waved off the apology. "No, it's alright." He rubbed his left shoulder. "I'm glad I know now, it's just been bothering me for awhile."

After they finished their meal, they cleaned up and began to study, with Mineta having a bit of trouble with English. He personally hated how some words were different, but actually were spelled exactly the same and just pronounced different. Iida seemed to be pretty all right in the topic, and helped Mineta with some more difficult words. It was a nice time overall, and after they finished and exchanged some parting words with Inko, the students left the Midoriya household.

But another important thing Mineta learned was that Midoriya unfortunately wasn't much help with analyzing "non existent" quirks. Mineta realized that he hadn't thought ahead once more, causing him to facepalm. Well, now he had to take the last option.

Tell Midoriya the truth.

* * *

**Hey guys, I'm back once more. I'm going to get the chapter stuff out of the way, if any of you are interested in how I am doing, it's at the very bottom so the people who aren't interested don't have to read. Now time to talk about the chapter.**

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**Wowsers! A very dialogue heavy chapter! Although reading the ending, you probably realize that this chapter ain't filler! :P Something's gonna happen during the exams, and maybe you guys have a good idea. And there is another concern with the rewrites.**

**Let me explain, when I first wrote this story, I half assed a rewrite for the first 4 chapters I believe, and they aren't really good. But since I've taken so long with rewriting the other chapters, I don't know what to do. What I want to know is, are you guys ok with the chapters as they are? I finished the other rewrites, with some more obviously edited then the others, and some I barely could change because I just stared at it not coming up with anything to add/edit. It's just when I look at this story, I see more things I did wrong instead of stuff I did right. I feel like my writing is garbage sometimes, and it sucks. Would you guys want me to edit them, although I might not be able to write the other chapter faster. Do you guys want more chapters instead of fixed earlier chapters? Please let me know! (With reviewing this chapter so I know what you guys think)! Cya next time!**

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**Well, now that's out of the way, this is where I talk about how I'm doing. If this personal stuff bores you, this is the end of the chapter, so I suggest stop reading. Okay, for any of you interested. I really, really, REALLY appreciate all the support from you guys, it helps a ton. For my depression, it's gotten a bit worse, and I've had some pretty low moments. I usually play video games like Alien Isolation to help me relax if I'm feeling particularly down, but that's it. On the bright side though, I get to go to a convention that I really been wanting to go to tomorrow, so I'm actually really excited for that. Thanks for reading you guys, I'll see you next time. Well, as always, if you enjoy my work please Review/Follow/Fav! Ciao.**


	23. Horrifying Reality

**IMPORTANT PLEASE READ**

**Ok, so if you just got to see this chapter, I had to updates posted ahead of this one, and the second update was explaining my redone chapter one and my plans to redo other older chapters. I dub it the "Redux Chapters". So, if you see any older chapters, and the author notes say "Rewrite" instead of "Redux" that isn't a redone chapter. I just called them rewrites back then when I edited them poorly. I removed both updates so if newcomers saw 2 chapters were just update, I was terrified that they would drop the story, since I know how some people don't like updates. But yeah, if you're not new, please let me know what you think of the remastered chapter 1. Thanks, and cya!**

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**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 23**

**Horrifying Reality**

* * *

**After planning with Sero, Mineta realizes he'll have to try Plan B.**

* * *

For the rest of the time before the exams, Mineta studied with his friends, and surprised himself by learning a lot more things than he had in his previous...lives. He knew once he took the test, he was definitely going to get a better score than previous attempts. Although he also learned that studying was rather enjoyable if you were with friends.

When he met up with Kaminari and Mina, the two students were more than happy to fill him in on their experience. They had informed him that studying was not what they had expected, especially Yaoyoruzo's surprisingly huge mansion. The two students explained in great detail about how they sat in a big dining room, and how they were brought tea while they studied. Definitely sounded interesting, at least to Mineta. He just hoped they got better scores in the written exam.

Although he wouldn't admit up front, he was glad that some of his friends would fail the practical. The idea of some of his fellow classmates in the building during the attack, safe and sound from the villains. It eased some of the stress he got when he began to think about the attack again. At least some of them were out of harms way, although it would hurt to watch them get teary eyed when they failed. But this time, when they'd return to class in tears, he'd be encouraging as much as he possibly could. Although he hated the fact that he failed in the forest that night, maybe it was for the best in a twisted sort of way.

Mineta walked to UA with a good feeling resonating in his chest. It was a new start, quite literally.

_Funny how someone like me gets an amazing quirk like this, _He thought as he absentmindedly walked into the doors of UA. When he first discovered this quirk, he first had wished that someone else more...well... fit had gotten this quirk. Out of everyone in existence, the quirk to rewind time after dying is _his_? He originally had thought someone like Midoriya would get more use out of a quirk like that. Although that thought was quickly stomped out once he realized poor Midoriya would have to _die_ in order to use the quirk as well. Mineta had seen a lot of unpleasant things in his multiple lives, and seeing Midoriya eventually losing his innocence due to dying over and over...

He squeezed his eyes shut to get the awful image out of his head. _Maybe me having this quirk isn't so bad after all. At least it's me suffering, and not any of my friends._ _I'm probably the most deserving of a curse like this. _Mineta clenched his fist. He couldn't imagine any of his friends dying over and over just to wake up a few weeks back. It'd probably drive any of his friends completely insane from repeating days from the past.

Mineta subconsciously rubbed his chest with his open palm, his hand hovering over the spot that had once been cracked wide open with a salt block. _God, how long ago was that? I've lost track over all this time passing. When will I start to forget more things? I can't even remember what happened the day before Aizawa announced that it was a week before the exams. _Clenching his fist, Mineta tried to block out the thought of just losing all of it. _I only remember the first day at the school. I can't even remember the entrance exams anymore. I faintly remember the USJ attack. What did I even do when I was taking lessons from Mt Lady? Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki were attacked by Stain during that time, weren't they?_

_God, _Mineta thought to himself. _How long until I forget my conversations with my friends? How long until I forget what their personalities are like? _He started to think more and more about the horrible possible future. A vision popped up in his head, him trying to talk to Kaminari and not understanding or remembering anything about him. He could already see the confused looks from his friends. He could hear their questions about why was he forgetting everything. _Is it possible I'm going to become obsessed with this? _

Before anymore thoughts could pop up in his brain, Mineta shook his head. _I'm about to do the exams, I can think about this stuff later._

* * *

Doing the written exams was no biggie, and he was pretty sure that his score was pretty decent. But he knew that he would do just fine, considering the fact that he had studied a ton with his friends. Each day was just a repeat since there was multiple written exams they had to take. Well, it certainly felt like a repeat more and more he struggled through the exams.

_Well, repeating is something I specialize in,_ He reminded himself._ so I think I'll be fine. _

But after he finished his written exams on the final day, he realized that the risk was too great. The risk of forgetting and possibly driving him insane. It scared him to death. If he ever...snapped, he wouldn't be able to save his friends and fight villains simultaneously. So, now that he had made up his mind, he made his decision. It was time for Plan B. Mineta was sure that he couldn't save his friends, since he was, well, Mineta. He was well aware that he couldn't accomplish much, given that his quirk wasn't really useful, especially with his lack of physical fitness. _I won't be able to do anything against the villains._

His eyes widened as an idea popped into his head.

_But maybe Midoriya could._

* * *

Following the first time they studied as a group, Midoriya and his friends got together to study in the following days before the exam. His mother was delighted at the company, and Midoriya had a feeling she was also just happy that he had actual friends. _Well, I'm also glad I have friends too._ Midoriya thought to himself as he remembered studying with his friends a few days back.

He never thought studying would be this... fun! Being with friends (especially Uraraka) studying with full stomachs, was surprisingly an enjoyable experience. _Well, food can do wonders to someone's mood if they're cranky. Well, except for Kacchan. Knowing Kacchan, he'd probably say something among the lines of "thanks for the food." really aggressively and with a swear or two._

During the first day, he found out the written exams were no small feat themselves, but Midoriya found that studying hard those few days was starting to pay off. On questions he knew he would of originally been scratching his head, he remembered the answer just a few seconds later. _I should study with my friends more. _Midoriya had thought when he was scribbling down the answer.

But now as he found himself in front of the area where they would take their practical, he found himself a little unsure if he would succeed. All Might had hopped down and informed him that his partner was Kacchan. _Kacchan, of all people. _He didn't hate the hot headed blonde, but he knew that trying to get his childhood friend to work with him would be a challenge. Midoriya knew it would probably be pointless to try to plan with someone like Kacchan, so he settled for trotting into the spectator room. Maybe he'd learn something from watching everyone else.

* * *

**Waiting Room**

Sero attempted to find the words to speak to Mineta, who was currently pacing around the room. When they first walked into their waiting room after being dismissed, Mineta began pacing. The boy was muttering something about a "plan" as he walked to one end of the room, then immediately turning around to repeat his walk cycle. Sero lifted a hand to give a weak wave in Mineta's direction. No response. Mineta seemed to be in another world. He sighed, and walked up to Mineta to tap his shoulder. "Hey, Mineta!"

The grape haired boy stopped his march temporarily to look up at the tape boy. "Eh what? What's up?"

Sero held his hand out in case Mineta thought of pacing again. "Uh, what are you talking about?"

"Oh," Mineta gave a weary grin. "Uh, I'm just thinking about the plan, remember? I mentioned it earlier today?" He pointed his thumb at the door behind them. "We'll be up before we know it, I'd like to go on with a plan. Especially considering the fact we'll be going up against a Pro Hero."

_Well, ask a dumb question..._Sero thought to himself, albeit a tad bit bashfully. "Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention." He looked to the side, as if to avoid eye contact with Mineta. "I don't mean to offend you, but how you've been behaving, it's been kind of distracting me."

Sero knew he had phrased that incorrectly once Mineta's face scrunched up into one of worry.

"O-Oh," Mineta quickly said. "My behavior?" The grape haired boy rubbed his arm. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"No, not like that!" Sero quickly said before any more misunderstandings could happen, "Not in a bad way," The boy looked confused, so Sero continued. "Actually, I've noticed you've been really changing in the past few days." He glanced at the door. "Well, not just me, most of our classmates have noticed your change in behavior."

"My change...in behavior." Mineta repeated once more. He lowered his eyebrows in what looked to be confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Sero raised an eyebrow at the grape boy's apparent confusion. _Has Mineta been unintentionally changing? _"Wait," Sero started, "So you haven't been doing this on purpose?"

The grape haired boy looked at Sero like he just grew a second head. "Sero, I really don't understand what you're trying to say."

"I mean, about how you've basically being a better person now!" Sero blurted out. "Everyone has noticed!" And he wasn't lying either. Ever since Aizawa had announced the exams, Mineta's personality had done a complete 180.

Mineta had an amused smile now, to Sero's confusion. "Do you mind elaborating?" He said as he scratched an itch on his arm. "I don't see how I'm a better person."

Sero's jaw almost dropped to the floor. "Are you serious?" Mineta just shrugged. Sero shook away his shock, and continued, "Everyone in the class, even Aizawa has noticed how you've been changing for the better. You've been a lot more polite to your classmates, you're a lot less snobby and smug." Sero rubbed the back of his head. "And, a lot less... raunchy around your friends, especially the girls. And people have been noticing."

Sero could recall during lunch times that Mineta's change of behavior had been really been starting to become obvious. One time Jirou's thigh had bumped into Mineta's head when she was walking by him during lunch. Knowing Mineta, everyone expected him to make a weird face, or try to grope her, or drool over her, or some awful thing that Mineta usually does. However, to everyone's shock, the grape boy had just quickly apologized, and before Jirou could get a word out, the boy gave a little bow, and went to sat with Kaminari. Some girls were especially pleased with the change, although they hadn't voiced their opinions to the grape boy. The more goody two shoe students of the class like Midoriya and Iida, were also obviously happy at Mineta's change as well.

"Oh." Mineta simply said in a monotone voice. "Is that uh, is that a good thing?"

"Are you for real right now?" Sero almost shouted. "Of course it's a good thing! It's a great thing! Everyone's pretty glad that you're not acting like..." He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, like your old self. Your new attitude about everything is basically unheard of. No offense."

"None taken." Mineta simply said, although he looked a little confused.

Sero noticed that the boy looked a little dazed. He smiled bashfully, as he realized he might of overwhelmed Mineta's brain with too much information in such a short span. "Was what overwhelming for you?"

Chuckling at Sero, Mineta gestured with his hand in a "so-so" manner. "A little bit, yeah." He smiled. "But I appreciate your...well, appreciation I guess. I just didn't know that I was making an impact at all. Don't really see how I changed, though."

Sero tried to hold on a snicker, but failed. "Mineta, you can't be serious. Do I have to spell it out?"

"I guess," Mineta said with a expression that made him look befuddled. "I'm pretty sure I've been acting the same."

Taking a deep breath, Sero stopped himself from letting out another snicker. "Mineta, I'm not trying to be mean, but your old self... well you were kind of a scumbag. Perving on other girls and being disrespectful to other classmates, being cocky, y'know. And, kind of a coward." Sero noticed that Mineta seemed to instinctively look down when Sero mentioned him being a coward.

"Well..." The grape haired boy muttered. "I'm still one of those things."

Sero wanted to tell Mineta that he was wrong, but something told him that it was probably personal for the grape boy. _I'll scold him about it later. And if he keeps beating himself down, I'll probably have to ask Midoriya for his help. If anyone can set Mineta straight, it'll be Midoriya. _

"Anyways," Mineta said suddenly, "Shouldn't we come up with a plan for our practical? We are going up against a Pro Hero."

Sero was well aware that the boy's concerns were valid, but he was tempted to press on the issue of Mineta's very low self esteem. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. _No, we can do that later. _Sero thought as he shook his head. _Going against a Pro Hero is a bigger issue right now. But I'm definitely mentioning this to Midoriya after the exams end. _Sero forced himself to push the thought aside, and looked back down at Mineta. "Yeah. Yeah we should. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, both our quirks are more trap based, you probably know that already." Mineta said. "But your quirk has the greater range."

"Are you sure about that?" Sero said, tilting his head in confusion. "You can throw your grapes, I don't see how yours has better range. My tape can only go in the direction I'm aiming my elbows. I'm pretty sure you can throw a curveball or something like that with those grapes of yours."

Mineta squinted his eyes. "A what ball?"

"Y'know," Sero said. "A curve ball. Remember in that old sport? I think it was called baseball or something. You could throw the ball in a specific way, and the ball would curve because of the way it spun."

"But my grapes aren't that heavy." Mineta countered as he shook his head. "There would be no way for me to use my quirk like I do if they were as heavy as baseballs." He lifted his arm in Sero's direction. "Do you think these arms could throw baseballs effectively?" Mineta grinned in amusement. "My little arms don't exactly give you the impression of any upper arm strength."

"Oh." Sero mumbled. He could never guess how heavy Mineta's grapes were, since the only time he interacted with them was when he got stuck on one during training. It was rather difficult to tell when the stickiness also made it hard to tell it's weight. It could be very heavy but with it's stickiness, it could just be very light too. Sero pointed to the grapes on Mineta's head, "Well, how heavy are they?"

"They're not as heavy as solid rubber balls like your average large bouncy ball, but they're heavier than something like a stress ball. Think of my grapes like squishy rubber stress balls. That's the best comparison I got." Mineta responded simply. He pulled a grape off and threw it up for an example. "See, it's pretty ligh-" Mineta unintentionally cut himself off when his grape went just a bit too high, and stuck against the ceiling. "Oh, oops."

The tape boy went to say something, but Mineta held up a hand. "It's alright, it's biodegradable. They usually go away after a few hours."

Sero nodded as he stared at the purple sphere latched against the ceiling. "Eco friendly quirk eh?"

"Yeppers," Mineta said as he blew a raspberry. "But anyways, my grapes are decently light."

Sero shrugged. "Fair enough for me." He frowned. _Then what can we do? With Midnight's quirk, it'll make things difficult._ He held his elbow out, showing his tape dispensers to Mineta. "Well, my tape has reach, and although it hurts to use if I do it for too long, I don't need to throw it like with yours. Got any ideas?"

"Well," Mineta began, "Which path are we wanting to take? To run to the exit?" Mineta grabbed his own right wrist, his left hand cupped as if to look like a cuff. "Or cuff her?"

Sero wanted to say cuff. If they managed to cuff Midnight, that would pretty cool, and Mineta would maybe get some self confidence. _From that exchange earlier, it's obvious he has some issues with his self confidence. But then there would be the risk of both of us getting hit by Midnight's Somnambulist. One breath is all it would take for both of us to fail. Maybe running is the better option. _"I'll be honest Mineta, I'm worried that Midnight might KO us both, and I don't want to fail." He licked his chapped lips, even thinking of the idea of failure made him slightly nervous. "Sure, we'll look pretty good to our teachers if we cuff Midnight, a Pro Hero, but it's a massive risk."

"Then should we run?" his friend piped up from beside him.

"Well..." _Maybe...maybe we could? _He could already see it, him and Mineta trapping Midnight with their quirk, and slapping the cuffs on her, and securing their win. _It would be so easy! They could..._

Sero's positive train of thought was slowly stopped as reality slowly set in. _No, I have to think about this realistically, and rationally. With Midnight's Somnambulist, and with neither of us having gas masks. Even if we tried holding our breaths...We'd probably run out way before we'd be able to get close. This is also Mineta's exam as well, I can't just be thinking about myself. Sure, if we cuffed her, Mineta would probably some self confidence, but it's not worth the risk. He's asking for my advice on what we should do. We'll just have to run. And after our exam, I'll ask Midoriya if he could help on the issue with Mineta's self confidence. But for now... _"I hate to say it...but I think we should run. Midnight's Somnambulist is too much of a hazard for us to risk getting close. It may look kind of cowardly, but it's our best chance of passing."

Mineta nodded softly in understanding. "Alright. What's our plan of attack then? Midnight might try running after us, and with her quirk's range, her Somnambulist might catch up to us, even if were far from her."

Sero began to ponder upon hearing Mineta's words. "Well," Sero started. "We need to either risk trying to stealth it by sneaking past her, or going the aggressive route." He gestured with his hands in the air. "We can't risk the defensive route, since her Somnambulist will reach us anyways. Besides we can't be holding our breath in for that long anyway, so playing defensive will screw us in the end."

"So we're doing the offensive?"

"Either that or stealth. Both come with risks. Offensive tactics usually use methods that require a lot of physical effort. And y'know, trying to hold your breath while running around and dodging isn't really a great idea."

Mineta hummed thoughtfully as he put a gloved hand to his little chin. "Well, there's also risks with stealth. Even if Midnight doesn't see us, she could possibly wander around close enough to us. I'm pretty sure once the exam starts, she's just going to constantly emit her Somnambulist once she gets irritated enough from not being able to find us. So she could unintentionally knock us out."

Sero grumbled as he imagined the unpleasant image of Somnambulist knocking them out when they were just hiding behind a rock. He also imagined Midnight's surprised face when the loudspeaker announced that they failed. "Damn, that is true. It looks like both options don't really guarantee a hundred percent chance of succeeding."

Mineta just shrugged. "Well, whatever you choose, I'm okay with. Doesn't matter too much to me."

Nodding, Sero began to ponder his choices. Both were tempting to him, but every time he leaned in favor of one, the negatives of that would just push him back to the middle. But once he considered the positives of the other one, he'd just repeat the process. _Should we sneak? Or should we attack? Both sound good, but both sound bad..._

Then, an idea hit him. A possibly horrible idea, but genius if it worked. _No... there's no way...but maybe... _Sero's eyes widened, and a huge grin appeared on his face. _That could work!_ He visibly perked up. "Eureka!"

Mineta raised an eyebrow. "Eureka?"

"Sorry," Sero quickly said. "Don't know why I said that. But I realized the best solution for our issue. What if we do both?"

"Both?" Mineta said in slight disbelief. "May I ask how are we going to do that?"

Sero felt a devious grin on his face. "Well...here's what I think will work."

* * *

**Spectator Room**

"Oh, hey guys!" Midoriya waved cheerfully to Mineta and Sero, who had just entered through the door. Uraraka also waved at them as well. Sero lifted his hand up in greeting, while Mineta gave them a two fingered salute.

"Oh," Mineta said as he noticed Recovery Girl. "You're here to watch as well?"

The small nurse nodded. "Since my temporary office is right by the spectator room, I figured I might as well see the students in action."

Uraraka nodded thoughtfully. She turned to Mineta, who was still at the door. "What are you guys doing here? Did you come to watch as well?"

"Nah, I just like talking to you guys," Mineta said as he trotted inside behind Sero. He frowned and then scratched his head. "That was me trying to be witty, but it came our really bad. Now it sounds kinda mean looking back on it. I'm never saying that again. Sorry."

Sero shrugged it off. "Meh. At least you know when the joke is dead."

Waving off his apologies, Midoriya smiled. "Don't worry about it Mineta, I'm glad to see you both." He glanced at the TV behind him, "Think you got your exam figured out?"

"Yeah..." Sero started. "It's a pretty great plan..."

Midoriya and Uraraka leaned forward, intrigued to what their plan was.

"But it's a secret." Mineta finished.

"Aww, man." Uraraka said in a mock grumpy tone, but she had a bright smile. "Way to keep us in suspense!"

As the automatic door shut behind them, Sero pointed at the screen. "Who's up right now?"  
"I think Tsuyu and Tokoyami are both about to start their exam against Ectoplasm I believe." Uraraka said as her gaze wandered back to the screen. "They just have to finish setting up, should just be a few more minutes, then they'll start."

Both Sero and Mineta walked over to join them. Coincidentally, Midoriya found himself sandwiched closer to Uraraka. It was thanks to Sero, who stood by her, and Mineta who saw fit to place himself by Midoriya himself. Midoriya had intentionally scooted away from Mineta to give him some room, but now he was touching shoulders with Uraraka. He tried not to blush as his shoulder pressed up against hers. The unintentional physical contact didn't bother him, nor did he really mind it. He glanced to see if Uraraka was making any signs of discomfort, but only saw her reached a gloved hand to her face, probably to scratch an itch on her head. She didn't show any signs of discomfort, so he calmed his _slightly_ erratic breathing and looked back up to the screen.

* * *

Uraraka covered her burning red face with her glove. When the tape boy had stood next to her, she shuffled to the left to give Sero some room to see the screens. But she almost let out a squeak when her shoulder pressed up against Deku's shoulder. The boy gave no physical reaction, so she figured that he didn't seem to mind. When her friend had turned to look at her to probably say something, she was forced to put a hand up to shield her face. It didn't matter her face was tomato red, right? He didn't seem to mind...

_I shouldn't mind either, _Uraraka reminded herself rather hastily. _We're just friends, that's all. JUST FRIENDS. _Her right hand joined her left to cover her face. _Then why am I getting so flustered?_

Luckily for her, Deku seemed to be distracted by something Mineta was telling him, as the green haired boy moved a little to look at the short boy. She released her breath that she didn't even know she had been holding in the first place. Uraraka squeezed her eyes shut in frustration as her cheeks burned.

_Why do I get so worked up? What is this feeling?_

* * *

_**Tap Tap Tap**_

Midoriya almost jumped out of his skin when he felt someone's finger tapping against his lower arm. His train of thought had wandered back to Uraraka when someone had begun to tap on him. He looked down to see Mineta with what seemed to be... a nervous face?

"Hey...Midoriya."

He picked up on the rather unnerved tone Mineta seemed to have, which contradicted the rather cheerful mood the boy seemed to be in earlier. Picking up on the rather quiet tone Mineta was using, he spoke in a low tone. "Mineta, is something the matter?"

The grape boy let out a weak chuckle. "I guess you could say that..." Mineta began.

The green haired boy noticed how Mineta opened his mouth, but hesitated for a split second. For some reason Mineta seem to rub at his chest, almost instinctively. Midoriya was slightly curious now, but didn't want to push for answers. "Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

It seemed Mineta was seriously considering it, as he was silent for what seemed to be several long moments. Before Midoriya could speak again, Mineta held up a hand, seemingly have made up his mind. "No. I need to tell you. It's important. It's because I have to confess something."

_Confess something? This is Mineta, what could he have possibly done that caused guilt like this? Well, it is Mineta, the possibilities are nearly endless. _Midoriya frowned slightly. "Mineta..." he said with a a quiet voice, "did you cheat on your exam?"

Mineta's eyes went huge. "Wh-what no! I would never!"

"Did you do something to a girl?"

"No!"

Midoriya kept his frown for several long seconds, then backed down. "Sorry, had to get the worst possibilities out of the way first." He tilted his head. "But what did you do?"

Mineta took a deep breath, and finally whispered,"I uh... I.. I l-lied."

_What? What was that supposed to mean? _"What are you talking about? What did you lie about?" Midoriya said cautiously.

Leaning a bit backwards, Mineta jerked a thumb towards Uraraka, who was staring at the screen which displayed Tsuyu and Tokoyami beginning their exam against Ectoplasm. "Remember the first day we studied as a group at your house, and we started uh, talking about time travel?"

Midoriya's face went blank as a new whiteboard. _What does that have to do with him lying? I'm completely lost._ "Uh, yeah. I remember. What of it?"

Mineta shuffled uncomfortably, an obvious indicator that he was having trouble saying this. "I told you guys I was interested in it because I was getting into quirk study, right?"

Humming thoughtfully, Midoriya recalled the conversation while they were studying. "Yeah." _I hope this is leading up to something because I have no idea where he's trying to go with this._

"Well, that was a lie." Mineta said quietly, now suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

Judging from his tone, Midoriya figured that the grape boy was expecting a scolding, or possibly a lecture from him. However, he settled for the other option. "Why?" Mineta's widened eyes told Midoriya that the boy wasn't expecting for him to say that. The grape boy seemed to frown thoughtfully, as if he was trying to find the correct words to say. His eyes avoided contact with Midoriya's.

"Damn," Mineta whispered to himself, just loud enough that Midoriya actually picked up the sound. "I thought this would be easy."

"What is?" Midoriya whispered fiercely, "What are you trying to tell me?" He cursed his tone, realizing that it sounded a bit more harsh than he intended. Taking a breath, Midoriya tried again. "Sorry. Look Mineta, whatever is bothering you, if you need to say it, say it. I won't judge for whatever it is."

"O-Okay." Mineta finally said, sounding surprisingly exhausted.

He motioned to Midoriya to lean closer, the green haired boy figured it was probably to whisper something so Uraraka or Sero couldn't hear.

"I uh...I have a second quirk."

Midoriya's cheerful smile he had earlier died completely. "Wh-What?"

"I got a second quirk," Mineta said with a nervous grin. "Um, surprise?"

His face was blank for several long moments. "Mineta..." Midoriya slowly said, his mouth curving upwards in a smile. "That's...that's great news! You must be pretty happy about that!" He whispered excitedly. _I know I would!_

"Yeah..." Mineta said, still having a rather nervous smile. "I guess I should be happy about it..."

Midoriya tilted his head slightly at Mineta's tone. _Why does he sound kind of sad about it? Discovering that you had a second quirk is a dream come true for some people! _He noted Mineta's rather uneasy posture, and how Mineta lost the ability to maintain eye contact once more. _Shouldn't Mineta be happy? _Instead of being in high spirits, the grape boy was rubbing the back of his head while his eyes wandered from left to right. Midoriya's face twisted into one of confusion. "Why are you looking bummed out? Isn't this great for you? Especially in UA?" Midoriya frowned as a possibility popped up in his head. _What if it's a bad quirk_? Not every quirk was good, Midoriya was well aware of that.

Mineta's eyes still wandered to anywhere but on Midoriya. "Yeah.. It's just what the quirk is that's my source of concern."

When he heard Mineta's words, Midoriya almost facepalmed. _I haven't even asked what the quirk was! I got so worked up at the fact he even has a second quirk! _He opened his mouth to ask, but stopped. _Wait... why is the problem the quirk? Is it something embarrassing? _"Why is that? May I ask what your quirk is?"

The small boy glanced at the two other students behind Midoriya, then whispered, "I think you're going to have a hard time believing me, because it's going to sound completely absurd."

Midoriya just smiled softy, mildly amused at Mineta's comment. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure nothing would surprise me at this point Mineta." _Especially with the billions of different quirks existing right now. Maybe it's a teleporting quirk? Different than portal quirks, but similar in some aspects. Though I can understand why Mineta would think that it is absurd. _"Mineta," Midoriya started, "I promise I won't make fun, whatever it is. I've heard of thousands of different quirks. Lay it on me." Midoriya watched as the grape boy scratched his head as he considered Midoriya's words. _I hope he tells me, if it's this serious he has to tell someone._

The grape boy put his hand over the same spot on his chest as he did earlier, then on his neck. "All right." Mineta said as he lowered his voice even more. "I'll tell you."

Midoriya saw as Mineta's head turned to the left a little one more time, then managed to face him again.

"My second quirk...It's time travel."

Midoriya's train of thought went completely blank.

_What?_

He frowned hard, as his brain was still trying to absorb what Mineta had just said to him. He moved his ear away from Mineta, and turned to face him. "What?" _What? Did he just say time travel? Is he joking?_ He quickly shook his head._ This has to be a joke, time travel is impossible!_ He stared at Mineta, who still had a blank face. The grape boy's expression showed no humor at all.

"Yeah," Mineta said with a blank face. "Told you it sounds absurd."

Midoriya's shocked face twisted into one of confusion as he considered Mineta's words. _That's impossible!_ "B-But that's..."

"Impossible?" Mineta said, cutting Midoriya off from whatever he planned to say. "I know you'd say something like that." He pointed at Uraraka and Sero. "I've done this before Midoriya, I've done these exams already. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm telling the truth!"

The green haired boy want to say that he didn't disbelieve Mineta. He really wanted to. But when he opened his mouth to voice whatever he was going to say, his own thoughts betrayed him. Mineta would have no reason to lie! _But what if he is lying...But why would he? _"Mineta," Midoriya began. "I want to believe you, but..."

"You want proof?" Mineta said, quickly cutting Midoriya off from finishing his sentence. "I knew you'd say something like that, it's why I'm telling you now." He pointed a thumb in the direction of the screen, which showed Tsuyu and Tokoyami in the middle of their battle with Ectoplasm. Mineta risked a glance at Uraraka and Sero once more, and gestured for Midoriya to lean over so he could whisper, not wanting to risk the other students hearing. " Like I said, I've done this before, and I've watched this exam already. This is what's going to happen: During their exam, Tsuyu and Tokoyami are going to get trapped by a giant clone of Ectoplasm. When it seems to be game over for them, Tsuyu is going to cough up the handcuffs, and Dark Shadow will put the cuff on Ectoplasm."

Midoriya just stared blankly at the grape haired boy as he finished his speech. He waited for Mineta to say something, like 'gotcha' or something indicating that he was kidding.

"If you don't believe me," Mineta said simply, "Watch the TV for yourself."

_Mineta had to be joking!_ _This has to be a joke..._ Midoriya's doubtful voice echoed in his own head as he turned to watch the TV.

* * *

Uraraka watched with anticipation as her friends Tsuyu and Tokoyami clashed against Ectoplasm. She was well aware that the clone based hero was a good person, but his appearance was still greatly intimidating with his teeth and skull like face.

_Glad I'm not going against him, _she thought to herself. She watched as Tsuyu yanked Tokoyami away from danger with her tongue. _Considering the fact Tsuyu can crawl on walls as well. Combined with her quirks and Dark Shadow, they make a formidable team._

The process of it continued for what seemed to be several long minutes of the two students dodging and clashing against of the seemingly endless swarm of clones, until a giant clone managed to trap both of them. As they were trapped, Uraraka felt something twist in her gut as she watched the two students struggle. _No.. come on Tsuyu! Tokoyami! Please, you have to succeed! _

She silently pleaded that somehow, _somehow_ they would win.

* * *

Tokoyami desperately attempted to keep cool as he struggled to escape, but whatever substance they were trapped in was solid as stone. His face betrayed no emotion, but his heart rate had risen exponentially when both him and Tsuyu were captured by the mist. Now Ectoplasm was simply standing by the exit, patiently waiting for the timer to end. _Nothing else for him to do now, can't exactly blame him for just sitting there,_ Tokoyami thought. His eyes widened as he remembered one of the horrifying rules of the exam. _If the timer ends, we've failed..._

He looked around frantically for a way out. There _had_ to be a way out, right? There was always a way... He slowly lost more and more hope once Dark Shadow's claws couldn't break him and Tsuyu free. _We failed...and it's my fault._ "Asui..." Tokoyami said quietly. "I...I'm sorry..." However, he stopped his apologies when he saw the frog girl making a rather strange face.

"You might want to look away..." Tsuyu said weakly. "This is going to be kind of gross..."

Tokoyami's eyes went huge.

* * *

Uraraka widened her eyes in surprise as Tsuyu began to _regurgitate _something that she had apparently stored in her stomach. It was the handcuffs! _Ok, definitely wasn't expecting that, although that is pretty smart! _The cuffs were just beginning to come out of Tsuyu's mouth when Uraraka heard a gasp from her left. Turning to the noise, she saw Deku making a weird face. _What was that look on his face? _Was that _horror_?

Indeed the green haired boy seemed to have a horrified expression on his face. Uraraka immediately noticed how pale the boy seemed as he stared at the screen, which was displaying Tsuyu coughing up the cuffs.

"D-Deku?" Uraraka asked, immediately reaching to put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Upon hearing the girl's voice, the boy looked over to his friend. "Y-yeah..." He quickly said. "I-I'm okay."

Uraraka knew he was lying as soon as she heard the shake in his voice. She'd spent enough time with Deku to know when he was lying. Her heart had immediately clenched when she saw Deku's pale face. "Deku... are you ill?" _He was fine just a few minutes ago... now he's pale and sweating! What happened..._

Sero had looked over, also noticing Midoriya's rather pale face. "Midoriya, you good man? You're not looking too great..."

"I'm f-fine..." Deku muttered. "It's just...I didn't think Tsuyu would actually..."

A light bulb went off in Uraraka's head as she realized what the problem was. "Oh..." She said. _I didn't know Deku was icky about that sort of thing. Poor Deku's probably grossed out right now... but Tsuyu's using her quirk to her advantage, so I can't blame her for doing that. _"You don't have to watch that Deku, if it grosses you out..."

Recovery Girl took this as her cue to chime in. "If you're feeling ill, you can go lie down in the office. You'll be called out for your exam before you know it. And with your... opponent, it's best if you get some rest. Don't want to be feeling ill when your fighting you know who."

Uraraka nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you don't have to stand out here if you're not feeling it Deku! I won't mind."

Deku simply shook his head. "Th-Thanks, but I want to stay and watch. I-I think it'll pass." He waved his hand in a 'so-so' manner. "I'll be fine."

Uraraka pouted a little as she stared at Deku with her chocolate eyes. "Fine. But if you are feeling even a little sick, please go and lie down. Or tell Recovery Girl." A simple nod from the boy satisfied her, so she turned back to the screen.

* * *

Midoriya visibly relaxed when Uraraka seemed to accept his agreement to her terms. She seemed to be satisfied as she turned to look at the screen once more. He noted that Dark Shadow had managed to cuff Ectoplasm, securing Tokoyami and Tsuyu's victory in the exam. The female voice announced their succession the other Students of Class A. He watched as Uraraka's smile returned, and she and Sero cheered for their classmates on the screen, who were now currently chatting with Ectoplasm.

His happiness for his fellow students succeeding was lost when he remembered what had happened a few seconds earlier. _Mineta wasn't lying._ Midoriya thought to himself in shock. _He wasn't lying._

Midoriya had watched in shock and a little bit of horror as events transpired exactly how Mineta had predicted just a few minutes earlier. When the grape boy had approached him earlier and told him that he could _time travel_, Midoriya had thought he was just kidding, some sort of joke! Because time travel had to be impossible, right? It had to be physically impossible! It defied basically all basic laws of nature and science!

But as he watched Tsuyu and Tokoyami, he watched in shock as what Mineta said came to pass. Exactly what he had predicted had happened, and not a single detail was off. Tsuyu had indeed regurgitated the cuffs, and Dark Shadow used them to cuff Ectoplasm, securing their victory. He originally wanted to believe that it was just mere coincidence. But the more he thought about it... he realized it couldn't be just a coincidence. _This was for real. A real life time travel quirk._ After the shock wore off, Midoriya slowly turned to face Mineta as Uraraka, Sero, and Recovery Girl shared their thoughts on the exams. Ignoring them, Midoriya simply stared at the grape boy in front of him, who was staring back with a rather blank face.

_I can't keep my voice down here, we have to talk somewhere, because I feel like yelling, or shouting._ "Uh," Midoriya said as he turned to his friends. He put on a fake smile. "Do you mind excusing me and Mineta for a moment? I gotta tell him something."

Uraraka and Sero shared a confused look, but Midoriya held his smile. "It's nothing bad, just need to discuss something about the exam."

The two students nodded in understanding, and Midoriya quickly exited, with a hesitant Mineta following suite.

* * *

**Outside The Spectator Room**

"May I ask why we're out here?" Mineta said out loud as the automatic doors slid shut behind them. _Feels good to talk in a normal tone though._ "Did I do something wrong?"

"No..." Midoriya said. The green boy had immediately begun pacing once they had exited the spectator room. "This is just... a lot to take in."

"Sorry," Mineta apologized as he rubbed the back of his head, "I just... I had to tell _someone._ Didn't mean to lay it all on you at once." He noticed Midoriya still seemed to be absorbing the info, so he kept quiet after. _Knowing Midoriya, he's gonna ask a lot of questions._

"But time travel!" Midoriya quickly said. "Time travel!" He had a huge smile plastered on his face. "This is amazing! If what you're saying is true, this is the first time traveling quirk in existence!" He put his hands on his head. "This has never happened Mineta, do you realize how extraordinary this is?"

Mineta just shrugged weakly. "I guess it's pretty cool." _I hate it._

The green haired boy managed to stop pacing. He took a deep breath, and faced his grape haired friend. "All right..." He exhaled, trying to steel his nerves. "Do you mind if I ask a few questions?" Midoriya's curiosity was through the roof now. "There's so much I want to ask!"

"Um, sure-"

"Wait, wait a second, never mind!" Midoriya suddenly said, spooking Mineta. "I don't have my journal on me, can we talk about this another time? I want all the details." He realized how loud he was, and lowered his voice. "If you're okay with that, that is."

_Good heavens he can sure yell when he wants to. _Mineta thought "Uh, sure?"

"Right," Midoriya said as he turned back towards the automatic doors. "Let's go watch Iida and Ojiro, I think they're up next."

* * *

**Our Broccoli Boi must be pretty excited, considering the fact that it's a time travel quirk! Poor Mineta is going to get interrogated later on! Rather bold of Midoriya to touch shoulders with Uraraka. My goodness, the nerve of that boy! XD Writing those two dorks is a ton of fun. ****And speaking of writing, holy moly, what a huge chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed this treat of a chapter! **

**But something I wanted to bring up was the issue of possible time skips to speed the plot. I'm not taking a vote, but I want to know what you guys think. I like writing this new Mineta (Let's call him Reformed Mineta), and his interactions with his friends. Although some people say it's filler, I really like just fleshing the characters out with conversations instead of having them stand in the background, completely ignored. I love writing these characters and developing character. Reformed Mineta is very enjoyable to write compared to the first Mineta at the start of the story (Let's call him Edgelord Mineta since he sasses everyone and is an asshole, kind of) But some people might say that it's dragging out the story with filler and is long, I like them. And to the people who think I might cram all my ideas in, I do leave out stuff, to be honest. Originally I had an extended scene for this chapter that took place during the written exams where Mineta would get stuck on question on the exam and would blurt out "Oh shit" once he realized he didn't know the answer. Then everyone in the class would look up, including Aizawa. If you haven't guessed that was obviously meant for comedy, but I didn't think it would fit so I left it out.**

**I personally wouldn't mind writing more chapters with interactions, but would some of you just like time skips? You saw it here since I brushed over the written exams and Nezu introducing the rules for the exams n stuff. But with too many time skips, I personally think it doesn't let the person I'm trying write develop. What will you think? Lemme say now, IT'S NOT A VOTE, I'm just wanting to know your thoughts, but as last time please also review your thoughts on the chapter so I know what you guys think.**

**OK, This part is done, I'm just gonna elaborate about how I'm doing for the few people who'd like to know. If you dislike that kind of thing, then this is the end of the chapter, sorry. PS I WILL START responding to reviews next chapter, now that you've guys let me know you want me to focus my writing on the future. But please review honestly, I don't like people posting reviews to ask me a question unless you at least sincerely review the chapter.**

**PS, I lost a follow or two before this is being posted, so that actually really sucks. I'll try to update quicker, although it'll be stressing. But it'll be worth it since losing follows and favs really hits me hard. Feels like a punch in the face.**

**Just like always, if you enjoyed this chapter PLEASE Review/Follow/Fav. See you next time.**

* * *

**Ok, if you're still here, you want to know how I'm doing. That, or your eyes wandered. But let me tell you people who are going to a convention or something like ComicCon, TRAVEL WITH A PARTNER. I won't go into detail. The trip itself was bearable at best, but if you don't have a friend or a partner or whatever, it makes it unpleasant. But it's my fault for going alone, so I only have myself to blame. So I'm not doing too great all things considered, but i'll live. Besides I have no one to blame but myself for this. Look b4 u leap and all that wise stuff So if you're gonna travel, please find someone to go with you unless you're used to being alone. (Wow that sounds harsh, but you know what I mean, introvert gang rise up) But on the bright side, upon posting this chapter I had a fun game session with some of my online friends, so that's pretty cool.**

** And I've read _all_ of your comments and dms, and I appreciate all of your nice comments and love, I'm very grateful for you guys. I'm not doing to great, but you guys and your positive feedback is really helping me out. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	24. Swing And A Miss?

**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 24**

**Swing And A Miss?**

* * *

**Midorya has a heart to heart with a sullen Uraraka.**

* * *

Mineta patiently watched as Iida and Ojiro were congratulated on screen as his friends cheered for them beside him. Nothing really had changed, other than the fact he also told Midoriya exactly how this exam would end as well. He smiled at Midoriya's jaw dropping in shock once more once the predicted events had happened. Although the others were fine with voicing their happiness.

"They're both amazing!"

"Iida's pretty cool!"

* * *

Todoroki and Yaoyorozu's also went by mostly the same, although Mineta decided to hold his tongue and keep poor Midoriya in suspense. Although for this one Midoriya actually didn't ask about what would happen. But Mineta did notice the occasional nervous glance Midoriya sent him while they watched, to his amusement.

_Same as last time, Yaoyorozu's panic, then her sudden comeback with help from Todoroki went by as usual. Business as usual. _As everyone cheered for the two, Mineta looked at Uraraka from the corner of his eye. The brown haired girl seemed to be shuffling a bit nervously in place. _Oh yeah, it's her turn. _He briefly recalled sending Midoriya after her last time, as Uraraka hadn't exactly been radiating confidence on her way out. The way she had strode out a bit hesitantly, the nervous look on her face she had tried to cover up with a smile that practically screamed "help". Granted, Mineta could understand being nervous about the exams, he wasn't very confident at first, but both times his plan worked when he managed to stop being such a wuss.

The brown haired girl turned to everyone else. Her nervous smile returned just like before. "Eheheh... Well, I guess it's my turn then?"

"Y-Yeah!" Midoriya managed to squeak out when Uraraka's brown eyes landed on him. He gave a shaky smile. "Good luck Uraraka!"

Sero nodded in agreement whilst giving a thumbs up. "You got this in the bag!"

Mineta hummed in agreement. "You'll do fine." _Even if you're partner has a rather large ego. Well, not as big as Bakugo's. _

As Uraraka nervously walked out, Mineta noticed that Midoriya had begun to frown, although a bit thoughtfully. _Just like last time. Well, might as well did what I did last time. _"Psst, Midoriya!"

The green haired boy glanced down at him curiously. "Yeah? What's up?"

Mineta jabbed his thumb towards the shutting door. "Did you see Uraraka? She wasn't exactly radiating confidence..." He said, adding a bit of worry in his voice. "I think something might be wrong." As Mineta expected, Midoriya instantly took the bait. The boy's green eyes widened in concern.

The green haired boy did a double take at the door. "Really? What do you mean?"

Mineta made sure to put a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well, I think she might be lacking in confidence. Something must of happened before..." He put his hand on his chin. "Any idea if something happened recently? Something that could of damaged her self confidence?"

Midoriya frowned as he looked at the floor. A few seconds past, and suddenly his eyes widened. "I-I think I know! It's when she-"

"No, don't tell me!" Mineta quickly whispered as he quickly tilted his head in the direction of the door. "Go tell her, she's about to take her exam! If you're quick, you could catch up with her!" He subtly made sure to add a bit of desperation onto his voice, just to get the point across.

The boy nodded quickly, caught off guard at Mineta's raise in tone. "R-Right!" Midoriya squeaked, as turned and jogged out of the room.

Mineta felt a rather satisfied smile come to his face. _All too easy. _He went to turn back to watch the screen. _Let's just hope that Midoriya doesn't say anything dumb._

"Didn't know you were one to play match up Mineta, this is new." A chipper voice said from beside Mineta.

The grape haired boy turned around to see Sero with a smug smile plastered on his face.

The tape boy jabbed a thumb at the door. "I figured someone like Mina would be more cut for a job like that. Never knew you specialized in hooking people up."

Mineta smiled in amusement as he rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Is it that obvious?"

"Very," Sero said. "Next time try to be a bit more subtle, you're lucky that Midoriya can be kind of clueless sometimes." The black haired boy instinctively went to scratch an irritating itch on his head, only to realize his helmet was obstructing his hand. He moved to take it off. "Although, I'm kinda glad you're doing the whole match up thing."

Mineta tilted his head curiously as Sero took his helmet off to aggressively scratch at his black hair. "Really? Why's that?"

Rolling his eyes as he relieved himself of the itch, Sero groaned. "Oh please, you think you're the only one who notices Midoriya and Uraraka? It's physically agonizing to watch them interact, but neither of them having enough of a spine to make a move. They always manage to dance around the topic of romance or anything being more than friends. When I see them do that... I believe the term is second hand embarrassment."

"Actually," Mineta began as he turned back to the screen, "I'm also happy I'm not the only one who notices. They clearly got something going for each other, but they both start blushing and blabbering incomprehensible stuff, and then run off before anything beyond that happens."

Sero nodded in agreement. "So that's why you sent him after Uraraka then." He crossed his arms as he leaned against the railing. "Think he'll do well?"

"Well," Mineta began as he licked his chapped lips, "I doubt he's going to sweep Uraraka off her feet, he's not exactly Prince Charming. If he manages to stutter his way onto first base, I'd count that as an success."

"Mhm." Sero hummed in agreement. Then his face twisted into an expression of confusion. "Wait, isn't first base kissing?" He chuckled, "Midoriya would have to be one hell of a silver tongued devil to pull that off today."

"Oh." Mineta squeaked out, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Now he had a weird image of Midoriya somehow seducing Uraraka under the span of ten minutes. He slapped his head as he quickly shook the thought out of his head. _Thanks for the mental image Sero._ "I...I didn't know that. Then where would he be right now if he successfully scores a few points today?"

Sero shrugged while he scratched out some eye crust. "Dunno. Home base? Like you said earlier, he's not exactly the handsome type. If any girls make any comments on his looks, it's not gonna be 'Wow, he's so hot', it'll probably be 'Aw, he's as cute as a button!'."

Mineta hummed absentmindedly. "Yeah, I guess." He looked back up at Sero, head tilted. "Wait, if even if he succeeds with Uraraka, and gets to home base, where is he right now from a technical standpoint?"

Sero leaned against the little railing near the screens. He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully as he considered the question. "Well..." Then his lips curved upwards, eyes twinkling in amusement. "The bleachers."

"Ha! I suppose so!" Mineta cackled as he eyed the door once more, "Let's just hope the coach doesn't bench Midoriya then."

Mineta turned upon hearing tutting from beside him. He and Sero turned to see Recovery Girl shaking her head. _Oh right. I completely forgot she was there._

"I hope you're not corrupting your classmates, Mineta." Her tone seemed monotone enough, but the two troublemakers knew that she wasn't approving of their behavior.

The grape haired boy put his hands up defensively. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sero rubbed the back of his head. "Maaaaybe we should be a bit quieter when we talk. We were kinda being a bit loud." He had a nervous grin on, not wanting to face Recovery Girl's wrath. She was small, but anyone knew making her angry was a very, very, bad idea.

The elder nurse frowned. "I sincerely hope you have the best intentions for your classmates, both of you."

Mineta pouted as he crossed his arms. "Hey, I've been trying to do better!" He jabbed a thumb at the black haired boy standing beside him. "Sero's noticed too!" _Hope he doesn't mind getting put on the spotlight._

Luckily, Sero was content to nod in agreement, to the grape boy's relief. "That is true. Mineta has been changing for the better, just ask any other students!" He put on a winning smile as he gently elbowed Mineta, "He's been a lot more polite, he's been taking schoolwork more seriously, he's been a LOT less of a filthy pervert as well."

Mineta winced instinctively at Sero's wording of him. "Ouch, I know I wasn't that great of a person, but 'filthy'? That kinda hurts, Sero."

Shrugging awkwardly, Sero flashed the grape boy a weary grin. "Well, you were kinda scummy back then Mineta, no offense. Although you're doing pretty great so far."

Recovery Girl seemed to take his words into consideration as Sero and Mineta shuffled uncomfortably under her gaze. After a few awkward seconds, her expression softened. "If that's true, then I'm happy for that. I'm glad that you realized there's more to UA than getting popular with girls."

Mineta's felt his shoulders droop. "Yeah. When I look back it's pretty embarrassing to remember. I was pretty stupid, huh?"

"I don't think 'stupid' would be the correct wording," Recovery Girl said. "I think 'misguided' would be the better word. Although it's good to hear that you're changing from the better." But she shot a wary look towards the metal doors. "I just hope you sending young Midoriya after Uraraka won't have any... unforeseen consequences."

_Let's hope. _Mineta thought to himself as he looked at the door as well. _Wonder how he's doing right now?_

* * *

"H-Hey! Uraraka!"

A tinny but familiar voice made Uraraka halt in her tracks, she turned around to see that Deku was jogging up to presumably catch up with her. She waved, although a bit confused. "Deku! Is there something you need?" _Did I leave something? _She looked down at her costume and began to check herself to see if all of her gear was still there. _Helmet? Check._ "Or did I forget something back there?"

"No, it's just..." Deku sighed, his shoulders visibly sagging down. "I...I just needed to talk to you for a minute. Do you... have the time?"

Uraraka quickly caught on to Deku's expression. _Deku looks kind of sad..._ "Of course I do! Always! Is.. something the matter?"

"Wh-What? Of course not!" Deku started, then averted his eyes nervously. "Well, that's not exactly true, heh..it's just..."

Uraraka instantly picked up on Midoriya's tone. "What? What's wrong Deku?"

"Just..." Deku rubbed his shoulder, as if he would regret what he was about to say. "Please don't take this the wrong way."

Uraraka felt a sense of dread upon hearing his words. _That doesn't sound good, but if he wants to say it..._ "Of course Deku, I promise I won't take offense."

"Th-Thanks. It's just... I've noticed you weren't really confident in yourself lately..."

Whatever Uraraka was thinking, came to a complete, screeching halt when she heard those words. _What?_ She squinted her eyes, thinking she had heard Deku incorrectly. "What?"

"I..I don't mean offense Uraraka!" Deku squeaked out fearfully. He waved his hands frantically. "I just... I saw the way you walked out, it's not like you to look..I mean... I don't mean you look bad, I-I mean you looked kind of down? I know it sounds dumb, but I'm...worried about you..."

She felt her heart skip a beat. _Worried...about me?_ "Oh, there's no need Deku!" Uraraka said, putting on a reassuring smile she knew herself wasn't genuine. "I'm perfectly fine!"

Deku's expression tensed into one of concern. "Uraraka... are you sure? You can tell me what's bothering you...if that's okay."

Uraraka's smile began to weaken. She waved off his concern. "It's...it's nothing, Deku. Nothing you need to worry about." She cringed, and resisted the urge to slap herself after the words came out of her mouth. _Dang it, I just literally admitted that something IS bothering me!_ She quickly tried to repair the damage. "Don't worry about me!"

Deku almost seemed to want to back down, but quickly recovered from whatever was holding him back as he continued. "B-But... Uraraka.. you're my _best_ friend! Please... if it's not too personal.. you can talk to me..." He looked up at her with his big green eyes, pleading for her to open up.

Uraraka cursed herself as she found herself under the gaze of Deku's green glistening eyes, as if tears were threatening to spill out any second. She began to lose a battle of will the more she looked at Deku. _All this because Deku noticed my slouching earlier..._ Finally cracking, her fake smile died. Uraraka sighed, looking at Deku with a sad smile on her face. Letting out a hollow laugh, she continued, "Heh. Guess I should work on my posture, huh?"

The green haired boy gave out a rather forced chuckle himself, although stopping immediately when he realized how dumb it was. "C-Can you tell me?"

Uraraka started to nod softly. "Y-Yeah..." she found herself exhaling a shaky breath she had been holding in. _When did I start that? _"To tell the truth Midoriya... I just feel like I could be a better hero than I am right now."

As she expected, Midoriya immediately denied her claim. "Wh-What? What are you talking about Uraraka? You're one of the best I've ever seen!"

She nodded sadly. "I'm grateful you think so Deku. But it's just... sometimes I feel I could be so much more. I feel like I'm being a disappointment sometimes...Like when I put everything into accomplishing something, and I fail."

Midoriya's eyes widened. He put his hands up halfway, but dropped them back down. "Wait... you mean like the S-Sp-"

"Sports Festival, yeah." Uraraka finished for him. _Wow, am i really that easily readable?_ "It's ironic when you think about it." She let out a laugh that held no humor. "Remember when I was telling everyone I'd do my best?"

The green haired boy nervously nodded. "I-I do."

"Yeah. I told everyone I did my best, and I was confident that I could succeed. Well, trying my best... didn't seem to be enough, huh?" Uraraka ran her fingers through her hair. "Funny, huh?"

"Th-That's all right Uraraka!" Midoriya said hesitantly. "I failed too, I know how you feel about it..."

"I know," Uraraka said quickly, her eyes beginning to water. "But at least you had a chance. I know Yaoyorozu also lost without getting a single hit in, but she got knocked out because she...really didn't have a plan." She cringed upon the mention her other classmate. _It sounds like I'm talking down to her. _"But I was so sure I could beat Bakugo, but I just got completely flattened. Bakugo didn't even break a sweat, and I made myself look pretty weak." She averted eye contact with Deku before he could see her eyes water. "I know it's just a dumb competition, and just a silly little medal..."

"U-Uraraka..."

"But... the more I think about it, the more I realize how low my chances are in the exam." Uraraka rubbed at her eyes, her hands wet when she brought them back down. "I couldn't even beat my classmate, and I'm expected to go up against a Pro Hero. I know they got the weights, but..." _With who my teammate is, and the hero I'm going up against... _"It feels like the odds are against me, ya know?"

"Uraraka..." Deku whispered out, disbelief on his face. It seemed the boy was having a hard time accepting this new information. "H-Have you always felt this way?"

"N-Not always..." Uraraka said, picking up on Deku's shaky voice, her eyebrows scrunching up in concern._ Did I make him cry? _"I had my doubts before I went to this school, but during the entrance exams, I needed help to get a rock off me. That didn't really do much for my self confidence, heh."

"O-Oh," Deku whispered, uncertainty in his tone. "I didn't mean to patronize you, I thought you were in danger and-"

"No, no." Uraraka said, gently waving her hands. "I'm grateful to you Deku! Without you, I probably would have been crushed. It's... I guess you could say I'm disappointed in myself sometimes." She looked down at her right hand, looking at the little pads on her fingers. "I'm trying my best Deku, but I don't know that it'll be enough, it might be-"

Whatever Uraraka was going to say was abruptly halted when two gloved hands wrapped around her hand. Her eyes went wide when she realized that it was Deku's gloved hands that was gripping her hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze. Her face almost seemed to burn on instinct. "D-D-Deku?" She squeaked, a bit too loudly for her liking. "Wh-What?"

"Uraraka, look at me. Please."

The brown haired girl tore her gaze from his hands, and forced herself to look up, and immediately regretted her decision. Deku's radiant green eyes shone, full of concern, and...understanding? Uraraka swallowed and tried to steady her breath. _Why is my heart pounding?_

"Uraraka..." He said, letting out a weak laugh. "I uh, suppose this is the part where I say 'I won't pretend that I know how your feeling', but...I know what that feeling is like." The boy's eyes wandered down to where he held Uraraka's petite hand. "I've felt like that for most of my life, before I got into UA..."

Her eyes widened. "D-Deku? What do you mean?"

Deku's eyes also had water in them as he looked back down to Uraraka's hand. "Did I ever tell you that I'm a late bloomer? That my quirk developed very later on in my life?" He subconsciously squeezed his friend's hand a bit tighter.

Her eyes went huge at the information. "Y-You were? I d-didn't know..."

The green haired boy nodded softly, blinking away the wetness in his eyes. "Yeah. Back then me and my mom thought that I was quirkless, and it kinda..." Deku reluctantly removed his hands from Uraraka's and stared at his own gloved palms. "Put a sudden halt to my dreams as a kid..."

As Deku released his grip, Uraraka exhaled the breath she didn't even realized she'd been holding in. She felt relieved that Deku had let go, but a small part of her felt...disappointment? _Why am I feeling disappointed? No! I can't be thinking about that right now!_ Regaining her focus, she quickly pushed the thought of the way temporarily as she eventually managed to look up at Deku's freckled face. "S-So you're saying you were essentially quirkless when you were a kid?"

Deku's green eyes looked back up and locked with Uraraka's brown ones. "Y-Yes. When the doctor told me, I was crushed. I always wanted to be a hero ever since I saw All Might for the first time, but when I was told I was quirkless... well I was alone." Deku tightened his hands into fists. "Everyone told me I couldn't be a hero because I didn't have a quirk." He uncurled his digits, and ran his left hand through his green hair. "The kids at my school liked to make fun of me for being quirkless. Even my teacher didn't care. To them, I was just there for them to push around whenever they saw fit."

"Th-That's horrible..." Uraraka whispered, wincing as she now had a disturbing image of Deku being made fun of by everyone in the class, with no one to protect him. "Y-You don't have to talk about it if you don't want t-to.."

The boy simply waved off her concerns. "It's all right Uraraka. I can handle talking about it." He gave a soft smile in hopes of not agitating Uraraka anymore. Once she seemed to calm down a little, he continued, "Although I tried to be optimistic. Quirk or not, I still would try to get into UA. I analyzed quirks in my notes, hoping that it would help somehow into getting into UA. But..." Deku shuffled a bit uncomfortably. " Everyone still made fun of me for wanting to go into UA since I didn't have a quirk. Thanks to that, I still had a small amount of doubt later on. I tried really hard to ignore it, but after awhile... it started to get to me slowly over time." He smiled and took a deep breath. "But I thankfully got my quirk, and it helped me cope with the nagging feeling."

Uraraka held her breath as she felt Deku's hand on her shoulder. "I-I-I... U-Uh, D-D-Deku?" She whispered, but not loud enough for him to hear.

Deku squeezed her shoulder in an effort to reassure her. "I...I won't patronize you Uraraka. What am I trying to say is... I know that these feelings are...difficult to deal with, and that they won't go away in just a few days. But I promise that they won't be permanent. You don't have to go through this yourself, Uraraka. You...you can talk to me..."

_I... What do I say? _Uraraka thought to herself, as she considered the boy who was squeezing her shoulder. "I...I don't know Deku...I don't want to burden you with my problems..." _And my insecurities. _Her subconscious reminded her.

Deku gently squeezed her shoulder once again in response. "Uraraka, it's not a burden, ok? You'll never be a burden to me. Besides, I want to help you, no one is forcing me to help. It's the best I can do to repay you."

Whatever Uraraka was expecting him to say, it wasn't that. _Repay me?_ She cocked her head to one side as she squinted her eyes. "What do you mean Deku? Repay me for what?" _I don't remember having him owe me any favors..._

The green haired boy's soft smile transformed into a grin of mild amusement. "You know! For everything you've done for me!"

"I don't...?"

"Ever since the beginning, you've always been there for me! Back when we first met you saved me from falling, and when we started talking more, you were always there to encourage me and help me!" Deku released Uraraka's shoulder from his gentle grip, and gestured towards his costume. "And when I was a kid, Deku was used as an insult against me... but you gave it meaning! You gave me my hero name! Because of you Uraraka...I'm never gonna give up!" He took a step closer to Uraraka. "And... I won't ever abandon you, okay? No matter what you're going through...I'll always be there for you." He gazed at Uraraka through his gentle eyes, giving her a soft smile. "So please...let me help you, okay? You're my best friend."

Uraraka was at a loss for words. _H-He'll always be there for me? _"D-Deku..." Whatever embarrassment she had felt from Deku being so close quickly vanished, as she was feeling a weird feeling in her chest. She'd realize later on, the feeling she was feeling was affection for Deku swelling inside her. Before she knew it, she had wrapped her arms around the boy in front of her, trapping him in a tight embrace. She rested her chin on his shoulder.

"U-Uh! U-Uraraka! I... A-Ah..." Deku managed to squeak out.

Lifting her chin a little, she angled herself to whisper to Deku. "Thank you..." She exhaled the breath she'd been holding in. "Deku." She noticed that the boy's frame had tensed when she thanked him. A few long seconds passed was only then did she realize what she was doing. Uraraka's face went red, and her heart started to pound once more. _Ah... I'm probably making him uncomfortable._ The boy looked like he was about to collapse on the spot. _Probably should of asked first... _The brown haired girl gently unraveled her arms from around Deku, and let them go limp at her side. Before Uraraka knew what she was doing, she was staring at the floor, her brown hair shielding her tomato red face from being seen by Deku. "S-Sorry Deku. Th-Thanks for being there for me, uh... I guess I ought to go do my exam now...thanks for talking to me." She turned around and sped walk away before she did anything else stupid, or possibly faint.

* * *

"Ah, hey Midoriya!" Sero said as the green haired boy entered through the automatic doors. "Oh, and... Tsuyu!"

Indeed, the frog girl was trailing in behind Midoriya. "Ribbit. Hello Sero. Hi... Mineta."

The grape haired boy immediately picked up on Tsuyu's hesitation in her voice. _I haven't apologized for the whole groping thing yet. At least, not in this timeline. Best to keep my distance until I do, she probably doesn't really want to talk to me at all. _"Hi, Asui." However Mineta's slightly sour mood was put on hold when he realized what he was going to say. "Heya Midoriya!" He greeted as the boy walked over to stand by him. He gave Midoriya a smug grin, and lowered his voice so Tsuyu wouldn't be able to hear. "How'd you do? Find out what was bugging her?"

Mineta wanted to ask if Midoriya made any progress with Uraraka, but realized that they still had left him out of the loop with the whole match up thing, so he'd have to be careful with his wording. However he quickly realized something was wrong upon viewing Midoriya's expression. The boy had sweat coming down his face, and his legs shook as if he was about to collapse. Mineta inwardly panicked. _OhShitDidISaySomethingWrongThisTimeWhatHaveIDone _"M-Midoriya? Did everything go all right? What happened?"

* * *

**A few minutes ago...**

Midoriya smiled at Uraraka, who stood in front of him with an unsure expression on her face. "So please..." He said. "Let me help you, okay? You're my best friend."

Uraraka had an expression of shock on her face. "D-Deku..."

If you had asked Midoriya, he had been worried for Uraraka ever since she had failed to beat Kachaan in the Sports Festival. The way she slouched, and had that smile that didn't seem to be genuine sometimes. Although he knew that she was having problems with that, it hurt to hear her say it out loud. It hurt him since he knew exactly what she was going through. _But no matter what, I'll always be there for-_

His train of thought came to a grinding halt when he felt arms wrap around him. He realized Uraraka had decided to hug him in the middle of his inner monologue, effectively making him a stuttering mess. His face went tomato red as he felt her chin on his shoulder. He struggled to form a simple sentence. "U-Uh! U-Uraraka...A-Ah..." His thoughts became a jumbled mess as he began to sweat nervously. _Ahh...She's hugging me... _He got a full whiff of her perfume, making him realize that Uraraka might have been a _bit_ excessive with how much perfume she put on. The strong scent making him feel a little dizzy, and his eyes started to water. Although... he really didn't mind it too much. It was...oddly pleasant? He felt Uraraka lift her chin, her brown hair brushing against his face.

"Thank you..."

Immediately all of his muscles tensed, almost instinctively. Somehow his face burned even more than before.

"Deku."

Usually, when Midoriya's face was burning, face red, sweating, legs shaking, it usually meant he wasn't feeling well, or just sick in simpler terms. He felt her warm breath against his ear, and when she whispered his nickname, he felt a new sensation he couldn't explain. When he heard her voice that close... An odd sensation shot through his body like a gunshot, making him feel like he was about to melt into a little puddle. The feeling was a bit scary and weird, he had never experienced this feeling before. But for some reason, while it was frightening, it was also..._exciting_? He couldn't explain it, but it was definitely intriguing. After a few seconds, the girl release him from her embrace, which helped ease his poor heart that that was thudding against his rib cage. Thankfully, he felt it slow just a small amount. Midoriya tried to ignore the slight disappointment he felt when Uraraka had released him.

She took a step back, and bowed her head. "S-Sorry Deku. Th-Thanks for being there for me, uh... I guess I oughta go do my exam now...thanks for talking to me." She turned and walked away quickly, before Midoriya could get another word out.

He stood there for several long moments, contemplating on what to do next. _What was that feeling I had just now? That got me really worked up... but it shouldn't have! Uraraka's my best friend! I shouldn't act like that in front of her... I probably made her uncomfortable with my silence... _

"Are you alright Midoriya? Ribbit."

Midoriya jumped back in shock as Tsuyu seemed to suddenly materialize right in front of him. "AH! Oh. H-Hi, A-Asui." _How long was I standing here?_

"Call me Tsuyu, ribbit."

"R-Right. Sorry. What are you doing here?" He gestured towards the closed automatic doors to the spectator room. "Did you come to check up with Recovery Girl?"

Tsuyu shook her head. "I didn't really get hurt too much. I just came to watch the other practicals." She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Are you alright? You're face is a bit red, and you're sweating. You also look like your about to conk out." She glanced towards the doors. "Maybe you should see Recovery Girl."  
"N-No! I'm okay!" Midoriya quickly said before Tsuyu could get any other ideas. He jabbed a thumb towards the doors once more. "Guess we should go in the spectator room, then." He turned around, and clumsily stumbled through the automatic doors, with Tsuyu trailing in behind him.

Sero was quick to greet them both, along with Mineta, who turned to Midoriya after having a brief exchange with Tsuyu. It was kind of foggy, he only listened to bits and pieces of whatever they were saying, only when Mineta's slightly concerned voice pierced his eardrums did he realize that the boy was talking to him.

"M-Midoriya? Did everything go all right? What happened?"

_What happened... _His mind quickly replayed what happened just a few minutes ago.

"_**Thank you...Deku."**_

He remembered Uraraka's soft expression before she embraced him. He remembered the scent of her perfume and her soft voice right up against his ear. Her arms wrapping around him... He mentally slapped himself, _Gah! Why am I thinking about it so much?! Stop being weird! _But he remembered the sensation of butterflies in his stomach when she hugged him. The feeling was weird, but good kind of weird. Midoriya couldn't stop thinking of all the different things he noticed about Uraraka those few minutes ago. He wouldn't admit it, but he honestly wouldn't mind if Uraraka did something like that again.

Ignoring the odd expression on Mineta's face, Midoriya felt a goofy grin come to his face when he thought more about Uraraka. He let out a longing sigh. "It was... nice." He knew he'd be thinking about this for a long time.

* * *

_Nice? Well, that's certainly not horrible. _Mineta thought to himself, although he was a bit weirded out by Midoriya's borderline comical grin he had. It appeared that the green haired boy had a bit more luck than last time, Mineta remembered that Midoriya had just gave him a shaky thumbs up, and that was it. But now the green haired boy seemed to be in a daydreaming state, a dumb grin plastered on his face as he stared at the screen. Mineta suspected that the boy wasn't even watching anything, just lost in his own world. _Well at least he seemed to do well. I'll let him ponder about what he'll say to Uraraka after she succeeds. He's at least near home base by now, but not first. _

"Mineta."

He blinked. "Asui." he greeted back in a monotone voice. "Congratulations on passing your exam." _I should take the cautious route with her. I know last time she asked if I planned for my exam... but with my slightly better reputation maybe she'll say something else._

"Thanks, ribbit." Tsuyu responded, her voice an equal amount of monotone in it. "Might I ask what you're doing here?"

Mineta picked up on her slightly accusing voice. He decided to play it cool. "Me and Sero are here to watch the other people do their exams. What about you?"

Tsuyu tilted her head. "Same as you I suppose. But that's all you're here for?"

_Her blank face made it difficult as always to decipher. _ "Yeah. Is uh, something wrong?"

The frog girl stared at him for a few long awkward seconds, then blinked. "No. Have you and Sero planned at all for your exam?"

_Welp. _The grape haired boy nodded. "Yeah, we got a plan down that we think will work. I'm confident that we'll do just fine." _I did decently the previous two times._

"You must be pretty happy that your opponent is Midnight then." Tsuyu croaked. "Lucky you, huh?"

Mineta squinted his eyes in confusion. _Why would I be lucky that my opponent could knock me out just because I breathed it in pink mist? I'd rather fight someone else. I wouldn't mind Mic or something. _"Uh, how am I lucky?"

For the first time that day, Tsuyu's blank face changed. Her normally expressionless face changed slightly as she raised an eyebrow. "Because it's Midnight? I'm surprised you haven't planned to somehow rip her clothes off during the exam or something. What are you playing at?"

_What am I playing at?_ Mineta's eyes widened in surprise. _Where did this come from? It's like the roles have been reversed from last time I talked to her in this room... _He shook his head. "Tsu-...Asui, I'm not like that anymore, I've been seriously trying to be better."

Luckily Sero once again came in to save the day. "He's not kidding Tsuyu, old Mineta is basically gone by now. He's being serious about this thing."

In response, Tsuyu chose to stare blankly at the tape boy, who tried to hold a convincing grin. She suddenly turned to Midoriya, who was still in a different world at the moment. "Is this true Midoriya? Ribbit."

No response. The boy had his eyes closed, a rather content smile on his face as he faced the screens that showed Uraraka and Aoyama preparing for their exam.

Tsuyu tapped him on the shoulder. "Earth to Midoriya? Come back to us, ribbit."

Midoriya's eyes shot open. "Uhhh...huh?" He blurted out as he twisted his neck to face the frog girl. "What are we talking about?"

She gestured a large hand towards the grape boy that looked on in confusion. "According to him and Sero, Mineta here is apparently being a better person or something. In simpler terms, he's supposedly less of a scumbag. Is that true?"

Midoriya squinted for a few dragged out seconds, then recognition flashed in his eyes. "O-Oh! Yeah, of course he is Tsuyu! Don't believe anything said against him, he's really being a better hero, and a better person in general!" He rubbed the back of his head as he sweatdropped. "I know it kinda sounds hard to believe at first, given his track record, but trust me! He's changed for the best. Or... I guess reformed would be a good word to describe it."

The frog girl seemed to absorb this information, and looked blankly at Mineta for several long seconds, causing him to shuffle uncomfortably under her gaze. Finally, she backed down. "Okay, I believe you Midoriya." She said, glancing at Midoriya, then back to Mineta. "Sorry I guess, ribbit."

_I just want the tension to go down at this rate, so I'll take it._ Mineta simply put both his hands up halfway. "No worries Asui. I can understand why you'd think that, and I really can't blame you for doing so."

"Although I'm glad to hear you're changing for the better," Tsuyu croaked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Fire away." Mineta blurted out dumbly.

"What made you change your whole demeanor?" Tsuyu said, "A change this big probably didn't happen overnight, ribbit. May I ask what caused the change?"

Mineta felt himself subconsciously glance down at his chest. "Well, let's just say reality decided to hit me hard."

* * *

_**He cried out in agony as he was pinned to the earth as the villain's block held him fast. He let out a pathetic gasp as he felt his broken ribs puncture his own internal organs. He couldn't move. It hurt so much, it hurts...**_

* * *

He blinked, his face expressionless. "Really hard."

Tsuyu hummed as she considered his words, "Well, whatever hit you, it was very much needed in my opinion. Good to see that you're changing then."

He winced at her first comment, but smiled and pushed through. "Thanks. I'm trying my best." He glanced at the screen which started to show Uraraka and Aoyama at the starting point for their practical. Suddenly he remembered what he did last time. _Might as well do the same for this run_. "Oh, I forgot to mention Asui." Mineta started in a slightly lowered voice. He swallowed, hoping that the frog girl was feeling forgiving today, and for her to hopefully not unleash her wrath upon him. "I've been meaning to apologize for what happened at USJ." He rubbed the back of his head, letting out a nervous laugh. "I know it's kind of late..."

Tsuyu turned around to tilt her head. "You mean when you panicked and did nothing? I don't think you should have to apologize for that, fear is a natural thing in people, and we're not adults yet, so it's not unexpected for us to freeze up in situations like that."

"No uh, not that." Mineta chirped as he scratched his head. _Perhaps I should of been more specific..._

"Ribbit. Then can you specify? I'm sure you know quite a lot happened during the USJ attack."

Mineta felt himself sweatdrop. "A-Ah...well when I... kinda groped you in the water?" He winced at the pathetic excuse of an apology. _Oh no, she's gonna rip me in half._

After several agonizing seconds of Tsuyu just staring blankly at him, Tsuyu finally spoke. "You're really serious about this whole reform thing, aren't you?"

The grape boy blinked in surprise, as he noticed that Tsuyu's tone held no sarcasm or disdain. _She's genuinely curious. Huh. _He simply gave another nervous smile in reply. "Uh, yeah. I am. Is that... okay?"

* * *

"Is that...okay?"

Tsuyu honestly thought she was dreaming at the moment. The fact that Mineta seemed to want to be a better person, and completely reform who he was... sounded completely impossible. If she wasn't dreaming, she expected to see flying pigs the next time she stepped outside. _Mineta not being a pervert? Sounds like the start of a bad joke. Is this actually happening?_ She remembered earlier a week or two when Mineta started to act different, she originally brushed it off, thinking it was one of his grand schemes to try and score himself a girl. Jirou had agreed with her theory, seeing as this was Mineta.

"Uh, Asui?"

The pervert's high pitched and nervous voice pulled Tsuyu out of her train of thought. She turned to face him. "Sorry. I was thinking." She considered Mineta's words. It seemed that he was being genuine, but she decided to be cautious, seeing as this was Mineta. "Yeah. Sure, all right. I forgive you Mineta, but I'm going to be a bit... cautious about this whole reform thing, given your track record. It's not personal, but the sudden change under a few weeks... I can't help but be a bit hesitant, given how the 'old you' tended to act. I'm sure you understand."

Mineta seemed to be happy at her forgiveness, but visibly deflated when she mentioned the last part. "Yeah. I can understand." He suddenly straightened his posture, his back no longer slouching. "But I'll be better, I promise. I'm sorry for all the other perverted comments I might of made, and I promise the perverted stuff is in the past."

Midoriya's voice from beside them announcing that the exam was about to begin. The two students turned to watch the screen, the conversation effectively over.

* * *

**TFW when your crush won't hug you, and whisper their nickname for you in your ear why even live bro. Also... Jeez Midoriya, try not to faint next time you see your gal! Hey guys. Looks like a new chapter is out, I made the mistake of deleting the two update posts so new people wouldn't just drop the story because no one likes multiple updates in a row. But that was a mistake, as the confused reviews clearly informed me that I shouldn't of done that, as multiple people were like "wait this is the same chap" n stuff like that. To be completely honest, I'm not very proud of this chapter, in fact, I hate it. I feel like some of the dialogue was clumsy. One of my more harsh critics is going to have a field day ripping this chapter apart in the reviews, that's for sure. Also, I know Uraraka seems a bit OOC, but this is my fanfic, and I think that she sometimes have doubts about herself in general. Now, I know you have questions about that, so I'll answer the one that's probably all on your guys minds. **

**Q: Did you write this chapter just so you could have IzuOcha fluff?**

**A: Absolutely.**

**One other thing I wanted to add is I wanted to give a shoutout to one of my readers for helping me with issues on my profile a few months back: "Golden Wind Requiem" There was some issues, and he let me know about them, so I fixed them. He also is writing a Mineta based story, a crossover with No More Heroes! It's called "Purple Violence" (Also has a much better cover art then my garbage Microsoft paint cover)Go show him some love! If you're reading this Requiem, thanks!**

**And now that I've gotten out of my angsty update spam from weeks back, I'll start responding to reviews. (But please when you post the review don't post it just so I can respond, I want to know what y'all think! Next chapter will have responses to reviews now that its calmed down) But as always if you liked this chapter, please Review/Follow/Fav! Cya until next time! (PS I am working on redux chapters as well! Don't worry!)**


	25. Mending Friendships Andstuff

**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 25**

**Mending Friendships And...stuff.**

* * *

**Mineta attempts to show the others that he's changed for the best.**

* * *

"So," Mineta whispered to Midoriya with a rather smug grin shamelessly plastered on his face, "How do you think Uraraka will fair in the exam? Think she'll win? I can tell you the results beforehand." His grin grew bigger. "Or would you rather be kept in suspense?"

However, Midoriya's expression was not one of nervousness or anxiety. Rather his eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth was curving upwards. "No. I know for a fact that Uraraka will win. I know she will."

Mineta blinked in surprise at the boy's sudden surge of confidence in his tone. "Really?" He said, now legitimately curious, "How?"

"I just know." Midoriya said, not missing a beat. "I've known Uraraka for a long time, and from what I've seen, I know she'll pass for sure. She _has_ to."

The grape boy felt an urge to say something else, but held his tongue. He chose to let Midoriya have the pleasant surprise of watching Uraraka, it would be fun to watch. And it would be also sorta amusing for him to watch him to freak out when Uraraka almost got eliminated from the exam, he knew very well she was going to pass, but it would be entertaining nonetheless.

"_**Uraraka and Aoyama, start!"**_

And just like that, it began. Midoriya, Sero, and presumably Tsuyu all began to watch the televison as the exam began. Meanwhile, Mineta was deep in thought about what would happen after the exams, or more specifically, what Midoriya and Uraraka would do. How would their relationship progress? Was whatever happened outside a step in the right direction, or was it just another event where the two blushed and walked away?

_Hmm. Wonder if there's any way I could encourage one of them to take another step? They clearly like each other...wonder if-_

"What are you talking about Mineta?"

A feminine voice broke the grape boy from his temporary trance. He averted his eyes to his left to see Tsuyu looking at him blankly. He tilted his head in confusion. _What does she mean by that?_ He raised an eyebrow, "Uh, what do you mean?"

Tsuyu shot a glance at Midoriya, who was currently staring at the screen. "What do you mean 'encourage one of them to take another step'? I saw you look at Midoriya and Uraraka when you said that, ribbit." Her voice had lowered to a whisper.

Mineta sweat dropped. _Oh crud. Was I saying my thoughts out loud?_ He put on a disarming smile, waving his hands from side to side. "Ah, n-nothing Ts- Asui! Don't worry about it, just more of my um, stupid ramblings!"

However, Tsuyu looked at the screen showing Uraraka, then looked to Midoriya. She went back to the screen, then back to Midoriya. She repeated this process roughly three times before she seemed to put the pieces together. She immediately looked at Mineta dead in the eyes. "Did you take part in whatever got Midoriya to talk to Uraraka outside the spectator room?"

Mineta's eyes widened. _Oh no, she actually saw that? Well, it's not out of character for her to do that though. To interrupt a moment like that between people is kind of personal, so she probably waited for one of them to leave. _He put on a clueless face. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"Ribbit. Did you send Midoriya after Uraraka?" Tsuyu croaked, her expression deadpan as ever.

Mineta blinked. "Maybe."

The frog girl's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I thought that was Sero, ribbit."

"Well," Mineta chuckled nervously, "Guess I'm full of surprises, huh?" He rubbed the back of his head as he said this, a nervous habit he'd started to form.

"I suppose." Tsuyu whispered as her eyes wandered back up to Midoriya. "But why?"

"Why?" Mineta echoed, confusion written all over his face. "Uh, why what?"

"Uraraka and Midoriya, ribbit. Why did you send Midoriya after Uraraka? What are you trying to do?"

"Oh," The grape boy said quietly, "That. Well, I don't know about you, but if you look at those two..." He gestured towards a running Uraraka on the screen, then to Midoriya, who's eyes were glued on Uraraka's screen. "I think they obviously have a thing for each other, so I guess I'm trying to get them together, since they're both crushing on each other, hard." He raised an eyebrow at Tsuyu's indifferent expression. "Is...that... a problem?"

Tsuyu regarded him for a few seconds, then continued. "No, it's just surprising that you would do something like this, I'm aware that you're trying to change, but you're changing a lot, aren't you?"

Mineta gave her a blank look not unlike her own expression. "Uh, yeah. But why does this make you believe a bit more that I'm trying to change?"

"Because," Tsuyu started as she lifted a finger, "When you do your weird little schemes, it's to get a good look at a girls rear or their chest, or just perverted stuff in general. I never thought one of your schemes would be trying to get Uraraka and Midoriya to hook up."

Mineta nodded thoughtfully as he also glanced at Midoriya, the boy still staring at the screen showing Uraraka. "Yeah, I decided that he needed a little push, so I pushed. Looks like it paid off, well I hope it did." His eyes went back into Tsuyu's blank ones. He frowned as he thought about Tsuyu. "Wait..." He lowered his voice even more just in case. "You saw those two talking outside of the spectator room, yeah?"

The frog girl nodded softly. "That's right, ribbit. Why do you ask?" She subtly pointed towards the screen displaying a slightly distressed Uraraka hiding behind a rock. "You wanted to know what happened?"

The grape boy did a 'so-so' gesture with his hand. "Uhh, a little bit, yeah." He scratched the back of his neck. "All Midoriya had to say on the matter was: 'it was nice', so I know it didn't go bad, but I'm kinda wanting details."

Tsuyu opened her mouth to respond, but after a brief moment of hesitation, she closed it. "I... don't think it's my place to say. What happened between them was their business, ribbit. We should respect their privacy."

"Aw, come on Asui," Mineta whined, "Something juicy had to of happened. Did they hug? Or something else? Details woman!"

Mineta's slightly inappropriate curiosity was rewarded with a flick to the nose from Tsuyu. "No," the frog girl said as Mineta rubbed his nose. She spared a glance at Midoriya as she continued, "Look, you said you're trying to change, right? Then try to respect their privacy. Try putting yourself in their shoes, ribbit. How would you feel if someone knew about something personal happening to you? Something _really_ personal. You wouldn't want them blabbing it to the first person they saw, right?"

The grape boy grumbled under his breath. Deep down, he knew she was right, but his curiosity still burned. He'd try prying for answers later, when Midoriya was feeling more talkative.

Speaking of Midoriya, the grape boy heard a sharp inhale from his right, and glanced to see Midoriya staring in slight fear at the screen. The screen was displaying Uraraka and Aoyama hanging on for dear life.

* * *

"We were so close!" Uraraka cried desperately as she clung to the railing. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong it seemed. They were making good progress, but then they were caught off guard by the space themed teacher, and now they were clinging on for dear life. Aoyama was also hanging on desperately, as Thirteen was closing in them. The french boy attempted to fire off a laser, but that was broken down and sucked in as well.

_This can't be happening!_ Uraraka thought as she felt her hands beginning to tire, _We were this close,_ _and now I'm going to fail..._ She clenched her eyes shut. _This can't be happening again...I promised myself that I would succeed! _

Aoyama looked at her blankly. "Uraraka, you wouldn't happen to be thinking of Midoriya, would you?"

_Huh?_

Uraraka's felt her thoughts come to halt as she heard her classmate. She turned to her french classmate with a confused expression. "Uh..wh-what do you mean?"

"You were thinking about what Midoriya would do, weren't you?" Aoyama said, a knowing twinkle in his shining eye.

The brown haired girl's loosening grip on the railing immediately tightened upon hearing the mention of Deku. "Wh-What are you t-talking about?" _Deku? Why would I be thinking of Deku? There's absolutely no reason for me to be think about him! None! I uh... _"W-Why would I be thinking of him?"

Aoyama's smile did not falter for even a fraction of a second. He looked Uraraka straight in the eye. "Do you... like him?"

Uraraka's mind went completely blank, as if someone had pressed the "off" switch in her brain. Her cheeks went tomato red. _Like him? Does...does he mean 'like' as in me.. 'like liking' Deku?! _Before she knew what was happening, she felt her grip loosen, and then she was flying towards Thirteen. She shook herself out of her stupor once she realized what was exactly happening. Letting out a panicked squeal, she was yanked towards Thirteen.

Gasping in shock, the space themed hero quickly disabled their quirk, stopping the sucking vortex from yanking the students any further. Unfortunately the velocity Uraraka was going from being pulled caused her and Aoyama to fly right up to Thirteen.

Seemingly coming back to her senses, Uraraka quickly pinned the Pro Hero's left arm to the ground, while Aoyama boosted himself with his laser to wrap his arms around Thirteen's right. His classmate quickly cuffed the teacher, effectively ending the exam.

* * *

"**Team Uraraka and Aoyama have passed!"**

Midoriya failed to contain his excitement when he saw his friend triumph. Never had he guessed that Uraraka would be able to utilize her enemy's quirk to her advantage! _I certainly underestimated her.._ He had gotten nervous that Uraraka would somehow fail, because the exam looked so _close._.. and that she might of _failed_ and that... He shook his head. _No, I shouldn't even doubter her once! I should apologize when she comes back...It's the least I could of done for her. _Although the boy still felt guilt for doubting his friend, he still couldn't help the huge smile that appeared when he saw Uraraka's expression of joy when they announced her passing. "I can't believe Uraraka thought to use her opponents power to get in close! She has amazing judgment!"

Grinning, Sero nodded in agreement. "Yeah man! I never thought something like that would actually work!"

Tsuyu raised an eyebrow, gazing at the screen displaying the two students conversing with Thirteen. "Huh. To me it just looks like she happened to let go, ribbit. I wonder what Uraraka and Aoyama are talking about?"

Midoriya shrugged innocently as he observed the screen. "Who knows? We can't hear what they're saying from here."

The clunky sound of the automatic door opening gained the attention of the four students. They turned to see Iida and Yaoyorozu walking through the door.

"Uraraka's team passed, huh?" Iida called out with a cheerful smile. "I don't expect any less!"

Their unexpected arrival caused Midoriya to have a smile plastered on his face as well. "Ah, hey Iida! Congrats to you and Yaoyorozu passing your exam!"

His bespectacled friend nodded. "Mm. Thanks Midoriya."

"You just missed Uraraka's amazing comeback though," Sero chirped as he motioned towards the screen. "They made it by the skin of their teeth!"

Yaoyorozu had a weary grin as she glanced at the screen. "It must have been very stressful, I'm glad Uraraka managed to keep a cool head and think ahead of the game." She wrung her hands together. "I know how it feels to lose your cool."

"I was scared when I watched you as well!" Midoriya said. "I was on the edge of my seat near the end, but I'm glad you won!" _A lot of exams so far have been having students barely passing... Iida's, Tsuyu's and now Uraraka's. I wonder if the others are like this..._ He risked a glance at an oblivious Mineta, who seemed to find his shoes fascinating. _Should I ask if...? There's no harm if he's done this before, right? _He glanced down at his own gloved hand. _If... I'll pass my own exam? He's refrained from mentioning anything so far, but maybe because I haven't asked... _He looked over to Uraraka giggling as she chatted with Yaoyorozu and Iida, likely discussing how their exams went. _No..._ Midoriya thought as he clenched his fist with resolve. _It doesn't matter if I'll pass or not, trying to find out before it happens probably isn't a great idea. Even if I'm paired with Kachaan, I'm going to do my best. I'm going to pass!_

"So," Yaoyorozu said as she walked towards the others to look at the screen. "Kaminari and Ashido are up next, right?"

"It appears so," Iida responded as he looked on as well. "They're going up against Principal Nezu. I doubt it will be an easy task for them to pass. I wish them good luck."

"Yeesh," Sero blurted out as he turned to face the screen. "Nezu's like the smartest guy ever right? I sure hope Kaminari and Ashido know what they're doing..."

Yaoyorozu almost stood by Midoriya, but halted in her tracks when she spotted Mineta looking at Sero, listening as the tape boy spoke his fears about Nezu. She didn't know why she instinctively stopped when she saw the grape boy, but she did it anyway. And it didn't go unnoticed by him either, he did a double take when he noticed her lack of movement.

The boy peered up at her with his beady eyes. "Oh. Uh do you want me to move? Because I can if me being here bothers you..." He pointed to a corner in the room near the automatic door. "And I could go over to the other side..."

* * *

The room went completely quiet, save for the beeping coming from unknown machinery behind the screens. The small talk between Iida and Midoriya ceased when they heard Mineta offer to remove himself from the group.

The boy continued, seemingly undeterred by the very awkward silence. "I know you're... not very 'fond' of me, and I've watched most of the exams." He motioned towards the door itself. "I can just leave, if that would make you feel more comfortable?"

Yaoyorozu knew she had what was probably the most blank expression on her face as she looked at Mineta. Out of all the things he could have said, she certainly hadn't expected that. She'd heard and seen that the grape boy had apparently "reformed", so to speak. Of course, she had originally had taken it with a grain of salt, and ignored him as always. But now he was offering to remove himself from the room so she could watch the other exams in piece. _Is he really serious about this? Being a decent person?_ She sighed, deciding to take the cautious route and putting up her hands. "No. That's not necessary. Just try to restrain yourself this time."

It seemed to strike a nerve, as Mineta immediately squinted his eyes. "I... Look, I know that I wasn't the best back then, but I promise you, I'm trying to change. I'm very aware that it sounds like crap, coming from someone like me, but I'm asking you to give me a chance. I'm not trying to hit on girls or whatever, I'm trying to be better. I know to everyone else, it sounds like a damn broken record, but I.. I don't know what else to say."

The creation girl was temporarily speechless. She hadn't expected for the grape boy to go on a miniature rant, but besides that, it actually seemed he was very serious about this "reform" thing. _I certainly struck a nerve when I said that. I don't think I've ever seen his emotions change on a dime like that... Maybe I should give Mineta a chance? _She was tempted to make a slightly snarky comment, asking if he meant by 'chance' as in a date, but she figured that judging from the irritation in his eyes, he just meant in general. She brushed her hair back with her hand as she tried to find the right words. "I want to believe you Mineta, but I can't help but be... slightly hesitant on the matter. It's awfully sudden that this... change happened. Given your past..."

Mineta fidgeted in his place, obviously uncomfortable about the mention of his past behavior. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Yeah. Yeah, I know. I'm not very happy about it, alright? I know I have no room to talk, but..." He trailed off. " Ugh. Never mind."

The room now held an awkward tension, with no one speaking a single word. However, Midoriya decided to break the silence. "W-Wait Yaoyorozu! I-I think you should g-give him a chance at redeeming h-himself!" He twiddled his thumbs nervously, as the students had eyes on him now. "I-I've seen him being r-really nice! R-Remember last week when he was encouraging Kaminari and M-Mina? A-And he hasn't been uh... w-well 'acting inappropriate'. I-I know he wasn't exactly the b-best back then.. but could you consider it?"

Momo blinked, a blank expression on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but someone else beat her to the punch.

"Yeah!" Sero chimed in with Midoriya, giving Yaoyorozu a hopeful look. "I know he hasn't been decent the few weeks back, but I gotta feeling that he's actually trying." His smile died, and looked at Mineta blankly. "Well, I HOPE he's trying."

"We all do, although I have my doubts," Tsuyu piped up, ignoring the squeaky "hey!" from Mineta behind her. She turned to Yaoyorozu. "I can relate with your viewpoint on the situation, ribbit. He certainly has been a scum bag in the past, and it makes it pretty hard to approach this 'change' in a positive light. For him to be a disgusting pervert one day, then the next, a completely 'reformed' person? It's kind of raises a red flag, ribbit."

"H-Hey..." Midoriya squeaked, "I-I know that s-sounds suspicious in a way, b-but I think we all deserve a chance to be b-better!" He looked over to Iida, who still had yet to speak. "R-Right Iida?"

The bespectacled student crossed his arms. "While I can agree that such a sudden shift in someone's behavior could be a cause for caution..." He angled his head to face Mineta. "I think it's best that we should give him the chance he asks for. This is UA! We should allow him a chance at redemption, instead of shaming him for it! He very well could be lying, but he could be telling the truth as well. It's in all of our best interests to show our support if he is truthful about his change of heart." He pushed up his glasses. "Even if he has been unpleasant in the past, he hasn't done anything recently has he?"

"Not recently, ribbit." Tsuyu croaked, her face expressionless as always.

Midoriya and Sero shook their heads simultaneously.

Yaoyorozu watched her friends warily as she considered Iida's point. _I haven't seen anything like that recently... but this is Mineta we're talking about... But he has been making an effort... _"All right." She huffed, "Fine. I'll give you one chance to change Mineta." She held up a finger before the boy could respond. "But ONE. That's it. Mess it up, and I'll know that you weren't being truthful. Understand?"

He nodded. "A-All right. Yeah, I got it. A-And if it's not too late Yaoyorozu, I uh, wanted to apologize for what I did."

She scoffed. "You'll have to be more specific there Mineta, you've done a lot of things." _A lot is an understatement, can't wait to hear what he says._ She had many memories of Mineta doing perverted stuff, including sneaking looks at her rear when she hadn't been facing in his general direction. The fact that she couldn't recall everything he'd done was a testament to how much gross stuff the grape boy had done in the time she had known him at UA. _This had better be good._

Mineta almost instinctively averted eye contact once he saw Yaoyorozu's eyes were full of disgust and disdain, but he couldn't blame her. _Still doesn't make it any easier to deal with though... I'll have to word this carefully, seeing as she's more prickly than Asui when it comes to... well, me. _"For...everything I guess. I've been pretty horrible ever since I got into UA, but that's not really news, is it? I especially remember how I clung onto your back during the Sports Festival...and I'm really sorry for that. And for the times I ogled you when you weren't looking.. and all the times I've made pervy comments at you. And, before you say anything, I know that I made pervy comments since like, the beginning of the school year. I'm very aware I can't really make up for all of the bad I've done, so all I can do is apologize. So... I'm sorry all right? I'll never speak to you again if you want."

The creation girl stared at Mineta silently, causing him to almost break eye contact, but he steeled himself and looked blankly back. _Keep cool Mineta. _

After several painful moments of awkward silence, she her indifferent expression relaxed. "Well, it's a start."

Mineta audibly released the breath he had been holding in. "Uh, so are we okay now? Or do you want me to just keep away from you?"

She rolled her eyes at the question. "Mineta, please don't be dramatic. Although the offer you made about leaving me alone forever is awfully tempting, I've decided to give you another chance."

"R-Right."

"Just remember," Yaoyorozu whispered, "I've got my eye on you. Don't even think of trying anything pervy around any of the girls. If you do, I'll find out." She leaned close. "Are. We. _Clear?_"

He gulped nervously, cowering under the intensity of her glare. "C-Crystal." He knew better than anyone that she meant what she said.

Several moments passed, then Yaoyorozu backed down, finally giving Mineta space. "Good. See to it that you keep that promise of yours."

"I-I will!" Mineta squeaked fearfully.

After that rather painful conversation, everyone's attention was now focused on the screen, which displayed Mina's and Kaminari's exam against Nezu.

* * *

Mineta thought he couldn't feel any more guilty after he conversed with Yaoyorozu and Asui, but he learned he was very wrong when he watched Kaminari and Mina's exam. Everything went basically the same, but it was much, _much _worse than last time. Now that he was watching this exam in a new light so to speak, he had to watch as Kaminari and Mina were humiliated by Nezu. Watching them desperately struggle to find their way out of ungodly amounts of debris being dropped on them. Then seeing the devastation on their face... It hurt more than ever. It didn't help he noticed the occasional glance from Midoriya beside him. Worst part was, it was the "concerned" look, which was the worst.

_Wow... _He thought to himself as he watched the hopeless expressions on his friends faces, _I really am the worst. _

"At least you realize it, ribbit."

Mineta let out an audible sigh. "I said that out loud, didn't I?" He put his hands on his face.

"Yes." Tsuyu croaked from beside him. "You should learn to keep a lid on it, not everyone wants to know what's going on inside your head, ribbit."

"Right." Mineta muttered bashfully, as he suddenly found the floor very interesting. "My bad, sorry Asui. I'll 'keep a lid on it' next time."

Tsuyu blinked in surprise at the sudden apology. She tilted her head. "Don't worry about it, ribbit."

"Oh." Mineta blurted out, not expecting her forgiveness that easily. "Uh, thanks. Sorry for just saying stuff out loud, it's just..." He looked up at the screen, which displayed Kaminari sitting in the wreckage with a blank expression, along with Mina who was covering her face as she sat on the ground. Her shoulders noticeably moved every few seconds. It wasn't hard to figure out she might have been crying a little. "Back when I was... well, my old self... I probably wouldn't of been being supportive right now, probably making fun of them or something... But looking at them now... I feel pretty awful. Hard to believe I was like that." His face scrunched up, and looked back at Tsuyu. "You're probably about to say something among the lines of 'Not that very hard actually', right?"

The amphibious girl just looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Not at all."

The grape boy stared at Kaminari on the scren. "Maybe...maybe I should... eugh. I don't know what to do. I want to do something, but I don't know what. I want to say something to make them feel better, but what? I don't think 'good try' would be a very good thing to say, especially after they failed."

"I suggest giving them time," Tsuyu hummed, "Obviously, losing isn't the greatest feeling in the world, and he might feel like you're patronizing him. I know you're not intentionally, but Kaminari is kind of an air head sometimes. Just give them some space."

Mineta nodded solemnly. "Right." His eyes wandered up to the screen, which had finally stop displaying the guilt inducing footage. "Who's next?"

"Hagakure and Shoji," Tsuyu croaked, "They're going up against Snipe."

"Ah. This should be interesting." _What's more interesting is how me and Sero's exam will go, hope it doesn't go south, because if it does...Things will fall apart._

* * *

**Hey guys, apologies for the rather short chapter which is rather filler, but after many weeks of writers block and being burnt out of creativity, I finally managed to get this awful chapter out. Last chapter was better written than this, and that's saying a lot. I don't know if I'll write Mineta's exam in detail, or just skip it to get to the important thing (Which is Mineta telling Midoriya about the quirk, which I will probably do because I want to progress the story)Per usual I'm back to responding to reviews (Which I'll do below this) But the important part is, I need your guys advice. I'm rather exhausted/burnt out from writing, but I could be writing something else, and I'd like to write something other than Mineta focused since I'm simultaneously writing this story, and the Redux chapters. **

**What I want to write is a crossover. What crossover you may ask? Well...Dark Souls and MHA. Before you say anything, hear me out. For those who don't know what that is, it's that popular game series with a reputation for being rather difficult. I know it sounds completely dumb, but with how I've been doing recently, I think it would be rather... theraputic or help since I'm burnt out right now, but I could still be writing something? But I would love to write something like that, since I love the series. What would you guys think? Leave a review about that chapter (And you're answer for the question)! Now, let's get to responding to reviews.**

* * *

The Keeper Of Worlds chapter 24, Sep 9

**I'm glad you liked the chapter, nothing wrong with good ol' fluff, especially with Uraraka and Deku. My heart hurts from writing them since they're so adorable XD. If I skip the other exams, he might get on sooner than you think! **

BIG BadJ chapter 24, Sep 9

**No problem, it's almost a month late, but happy bday I guess? XD**

Leaning Leon chapter 24, Sep 9

**Well, then mission accomplished I guess? It was my intention to make the scenes between them awkward since they get so bashful near each other. Glad you think that it was good in that certain aspect. Hope you enjoyed!**

Kashagal and Natures Ruler chapter 24, Sep 9

**Oh wow, like actually tear up? Thanks man, that means alot! Didn't think my writing could invoke that kind of emotion in... well, anyone XD. You must of been severely disappointed by the next chapters which are pretty bad in comparison. I wouldn't be surprised if you had already dropped the story (Which I don't blame you) But if you're still here, I hope you enjoy my garbage!**

decodelifehacker chapter 24, Sep 10

**Yes... it' e. Maybe, maybe not. And his mental state will be affected, don't worry. Soon my friend... soon.**

Golden Wind Requiem chapter 24, Sep 10

**Glad you liked it! Glad to hear I didn't go overboard with anything too much, that was my fear when I was writing that chapter! Sorry about the DM spam, probably getting on your nerves lmao. **

bajy chapter 24, Sep 10

**Thanks I guess. Next time you should say more my guy, I'd like to hear what you like/dislike about my chapters! No need to be shy 3 **

Thornrose270 chapter 24, Sep 10

**That's the idea of the story, to make people understand that Mineta could be better! I like your wording with him being a raisin, now he's a true grape now!**

Josuke21 chapter 24, Sep 11

**Good to hear that you thought it was cute! Yeah, I know its fanfic, but OOC stuff grinds my gears unless it's heavy AU or something, which is why I try to keep everyone in character as much as possible (Mineta doesn't count he's the protagonist reeee dont me)**

Uniquebooks chapter 24, Sep 16

**Well, you're getting more my guy! (Although it isn't much, sorry). I'm glad you think it's amazing, thank you bunches!**

ariayagami chapter 24, Sep 16

**Yeah, he isn't the fav character of most people in general, which is why I felt like he deserved a chance. A lot of people have been referencing that "zero" stuff, although I still don't understand what it is. But when it comes to the story, don't you worry! Things are gonna get DEEP.**

Najee chapter 24, Sep 19

**Well, they're always cute together! Yeah, it seems that Tsuyu's a bit hesitant with this whole thing. Let's hope she and the other students will be more accepting later on!**

* * *

**Welp, that's it for the replies! As before, lemme know if you guys would be interested! As always, if you managed to enjoy this awful chapter please review/follow/fav! Until next time!**


	26. New Message

**Twisted Nightmares**

**Chapter 26**

**New Message**

* * *

**Mineta exchanges texts while on a rather long walk.**

* * *

After the other exams, Mineta and Sero made a plan to work together to ambush Midnight, and surprisingly, it actually worked. After setting up a trap, they managed to trap her, and both ran for the goal, to their classmates surprise. They were promptly given congratulations by Midnight for their skills, and Midnight even managed to notice Mineta's behavior change as well, to the boy's delight. Although he noticed that his legs shook when the exam ended, but he steeled his breath and shrugged it off, assuming he was just feeling the aftermath of the adrenaline rush.

_Feels pretty good that someone noticed and didn't need 100 apologies, _Mineta thought to himself as he walked on the sidewalk. Midoriya managed to pass his exam, just like last time. Although that wasn't really surprising, considering it was Midoriya.

But others didn't pass, such as Kaminari and Mina, who seemed pretty down after the exams. The pair seemed to be the most crushed that they didn't pass, although Mineta tried to reassure them that they'd be fine anyways, but it was proving to be rather difficult.

* * *

**Kaminari**

(5:25 P.M.) **Mineta: **Hey man.

(5:29 P.M.) **Kaminari: **What

(5:30 P.M.) **Mineta: **Oh. Are you...not in the mood to chat? I can back off if you want man.

(5:33 P.M.) **Kaminari: **no, that's not

(5:33 P.M.) **Kaminari: **ugh. sorry about that its just im so mad at myself for being such a moron

(5:34 P.M.) **Mineta: **Why do you say that? **:/**

(5:36 P.M.) **Kaminari: **you saw me during my exam didnt you? I was just running around like a complete idiot while nezu swung at us with a wrecking ball

(5:36 P.M.) **Kaminari: **funny how people say I suddenly become stupid after excessive use of my quirk but it seems that im just stupid by default

(5:37 P.M.) **Kaminari: **seems that I dont need my quirk to be an idiot

(5:39 P.M.) **Mineta: **I'm sorry. To be entirely honest, I think you were cheated out of a fair exam.

(5:41 P.M.) **Kaminari: **what? cheated? what do you mean by that

(5:43 P.M.) **Mineta: **Yeah. Look at it from my point of view. You and Mina had the lowest placements grade wise, and the teachers obviously know this. Somehow, you get get pitted up against the smartest creature alive for your exam. Does that sound fair?

(5:46 P.M.) **Kaminari: **huh. now that you mention it that is kinda dumb. Doesn't seem like a coincidence to me. but why would they do that? other students had it way easier with their exams

(5:48 P.M.) **Mineta:** Maybe because of the whole "Unexpected challenges" in our careers as heroes?

(5:49 P.M.) **Kaminari: **ugh thats such bullshit but your probably right

(5:50 P.M.) **Kaminari: **they would so something stupid like that. I can understand why they would do something like that but for my exams? come on.

* * *

Mineta sighed as he stared at his reflection on the blank screen. Either Kaminari would respond, or the grape boy himself would have some advice. _What am I supposed to say? I know that he wasn't really happy, but man, he really took it hard. _Mineta knew better than anyone that losing sucked pretty hard. _Especially when you put your heart in soul into everything... and then just to fail. I'll have to be careful. _He saw that he got another message while he was daydreaming.

* * *

(5:56 P.M.) **Kaminari: **sorry did my rant bother you

(5:56 P.M.) **Mineta: **No, sorry. I was just thinking to myself.

(5:57 P.M.) **Kaminari: **what about

(5:57 P.M.) **Mineta: **I'm just thinking about what you said. I know what it means to fail, and it sucks pretty badly. Sorry that you're feeling this way man. You uh... wanna talk about it? Usually helps when I talk about my issues.

(5:59 P.M.) **Kaminari: **actually I gtg man

(5:59 P.M.) **Mineta: **Really? Something going on?

(6:01 P.M.) **Kaminari: **oh nothing much, ill just be gonna be busy because Jirou wanted to hang out its not special

(6:01 P.M.) **Mineta: **"Hang out"?

(6:02 P.M.) **Kaminari: **shut up I thought you said you stopped with the perverted stuff. Were just friends thats all

(6:04 P.M.) **Mineta: **If you say so man. Well, have fun then.

(6:06 P.M.) **Kaminari: **thanks I guess. Have a good one

(6:07 P.M.) **Mineta: **You too. Tell your girlfriend I said hello.

(6:07 P.M.) **Kaminari: **k

(6:09 P.M.) **Kaminari: **wait

(6:09 P.M.) **Kaminari: **SHES NOT MY GIRLFRIEND I LITERALLY JUST TOLD YOU WERE JUST FRIENDS

(6:09 P.M.) **Kaminari: **THATS IT JUST FRIENDS OKAY THIS CONVERSATION IS OVER

* * *

Mineta rolled his eyes in slight amusement as he put his phone on sleep mode. _Hanging with Jirou huh? For someone so focused on getting a chick, he seems rather flustered at the idea of being with a certain earjack girl. Doesn't help that he's a bit prickly anyways. Although talking with Jirou will probably help with his mood, so at least he's got that going for him. Speaking with students with bad moods though.. _

He suddenly remembered about Mina as well, he had yet to do anything about her. _I don't think she'd appreciate me trying to contact her, and I don't have her number, or have her added in any of the chatrooms the class is in. And we're not friends obviously. But maybe..._

Mineta glanced down and switched on his phone, and stared at the name displayed on his screen. _But will she even talk to me? _

He rolled his eyes. _No point in wondering, might as well try it._

* * *

**Asui**

(6:23 P.M.) **Mineta: **Hi, Asui.

(6:24 P.M.) **Asui: **Hello Mineta. Something you need?

(6:24 P.M.) **Mineta: **How'd you know? Am I really that predictable?

(6:25 P.M.) **Asui: **No. But this is the second or third time we've actually engaged in conversation via text messaging, so I suspected that this wasn't just small talk.

(6:26 P.M.) **Mineta: **Well, you're right. Um, you're friends with Mina, right?

(6:28 P.M.) **Asui: **Yes, I am. Why do you ask?

(6:28 P.M.) **Mineta: **Think you could see if she's doing alright? I don't think we're friends, but I'd like to see if she's doing alright, since we saw how she was after the exam.

(6:30 P.M.) **Asui: **Ask her yourself.

(6:30 P.M.) **Mineta: **I'm not sure that trying to find her in public is a good idea. I don't have her number either.

(6:31 P.M.) **Asui: **I wasn't finished. I'm with her right now, I decided go to a mall with her, to try to distract her. You're not the only who noticed how sad she's been.

(6:33 P.M.) **Mineta:** Oh, then that's even better! Just ask her now for me, would ya?

(6:33 P.M.) **Asui: **Here, you do it. I'll let her borrow my phone. It's easier this way.

(6:34 P.M.) **Mineta: **What? No just ask her please I don't wa

(6:34 P.M.) **Asui: **yo

(6:35 P.M.) **Asui: **tsu said you wanted to talk to me but that previous message contradicts that statement lol

(6:36 P.M.) **Mineta: **Right. Uh, I was wondering if you're doing alright.

(6:37 P.M.) **Asui: **wat r u trying to pull mineta

(6:37 P.M.) **Mineta: **Nothing! I'm not gonna pull anything, I told you I'm trying to change, alright? I'm sorry if I did anything

(6:38 P.M.) **Asui: **chillax my dude I was just kidding

(6:39 P.M.) **Mineta: **Oh. Right.

(6:40 P.M.) **Asui: **ok but wat did you need cuz the food court smells gud and I dont like texting while eaitng

(6:41 P.M.) **Mineta: **Alright, then I'll make it quick. I was wondering if you were doing okay. I saw you and Kaminari looking pretty down after the exams, so I was just checking up on you both.

(6:42 P.M.) **Asui: **huh. Thats surprisingly nice of you mineta. Well im doing ok, im shopping... well more like "browsing" but either way it is a nice distraction. Guess the whole reformed thing I heard tsu talkin bout earlier was for real then. Hows kaminari? Did u check up on him yet

(6:42 P.M.) **Mineta: **Actually yeah! We chatted for a bit, then he said he had to go do something with Jirou so he's okay

(6:43 P.M.) **Asui: **wait hes with jirou? :o

(6:43 P.M.) **Mineta: **Yeah. Why do you ask?

(6:44 P.M.) **Asui: **A LO N E ? O W O

(6:45 P.M.) **Mineta: **Um... Yes? :/

(6:46 P.M.) ** Asui: **SHES FINALLY MAKING A MOVE HOLY HELL IT TOOK HER LONG ENOUGH ^w^

(6:47 P.M.) **Mineta: **What? No, no, he said that they're just friends

(6:48 P.M.) **Asui: **b4 or after?

(6:48 P.M.) **Mineta: **What?

(6:49 P.M.) **Asui: **did he tell u when they were in the process of "hanging out" or b4 they started actually hanging out

(6:50 P.M.) **Mineta: **Before.

(6:51 P.M.) **Asui: **riddle me this

(6:52 P.M.) **Asui: **wat if jirou makes a move while their hanging out? Got anything to disprove that? She totally is making a move I gotta text her after me and tsu finish at the mall

(6:53 P.M.) **Mineta: **But what if she wants to keep it a bit more private? I'm not saying you're right with the whole "making a move thing" but if it's somehow true, and finds out I told you, she'll kill me.

(6:54 P.M.) **Asui: **dont worry ur secret stays with me, and hopefully tsu after she inevitably looks at these txts lmao

(6:55 P.M.) **Mineta: **We both know Asui, she won't tell. Besides she gave me a lecture on a similar topic back during the exams. As long as we both don't say a word, no one else will know.

(6:56 P.M.) **Asui: **agreed. Well thanks for telling me this i'll get a lot of mileage out of it

(6:56 P.M.) **Mineta: **Wait what?

(6:58 P.M.) **Asui: **kidding. Nice talking with ya, and thanks for checkin up on me ill give the phone back to tsu :P

(6:59 P.M.) **Mineta: **Alright.

(7:00 P.M.) **Asui: **Hello Mineta, that certainly took a while. Although I'm actually impressed that you managed to hold a conversation with a female over text.

(7:01 P.M.) **Mineta: **Very funny Tsuyu. Anyways, thanks I guess. You're bound to read the previous texts sometime, so I don't need to explain it.

(7:01 P.M.) **Mineta: **Asui* Sorry.

(7:01 P.M.) **Asui: **Hm.

(7:02 P.M.) **Mineta: **What?

(7:02 P.M.) **Asui: **….nothing. Me and Mina are going to get food.

(7:02 P.M.) **Mineta: **Alright. Thanks for talking with me I guess.

(7:03 P.M.) **Asui: **Don't mention it. Talk to you later.

(7:04 P.M.) **Mineta: **Uh oh right. Yeah. Ttyl.

Mineta sighed as he put his phone into sleep mode once more, cringing internally. He was well aware that him and Asui weren't exactly friends, more like people who just talked to each other. _Hope I didn't make her mad by calling her Tsuyu._ He didn't know he'd been going through a whirlwind of emotions for the past twenty minutes, but now he felt conflicted. If he accidentally started a rumor via Mina, he was in trouble. Kaminari would definitely know it was him, and no doubt he'd tattle on him to Jirou. Mineta didn't feel like facing the wrath of Jirou _and_ Kaminari anytime soon. _She's nasty when she gets angry, eugh. _He'd have to hope that Mina would keep to her word about not telling anyone, because if she didn't, Mineta knew his future wouldn't be very pleasant in the least.

_Speaking of futures..._

He let out an audible huff as he whipped out his phone once more, remembering that he still had someone to text. He'd been wandering around town for so long that he'd momentarily forgotten that he still needed to talk to a certain someone.

* * *

**Midoriya**

(7:13 P.M.) **Mineta: **Hey man. You alive?

(7:13 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Hello Mineta! Yeah I'm here, what's up?

(7:14 P.M.) **Mineta: **So uh, remember how I said we'd talk about my quirk? Think we could do that today?

(7:14 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Absolutely! I haven't stopped thinking about it since you told me! A time travel quirk, probably the first known in existence! There's so many possibilities with this quirk!

(7:15 P.M.) **Mineta: **Yeah, I know. Uh, before you get excited, perhaps we should talk about this in person? This is kind of serious.

(7:15 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Right, sorry. Was getting kind of excited. You could come over today, I can just tell my mother that we're studying again. Got my journal right here.

(7:16 P.M.) **Mineta: **Today? Well, I don't know. Getting a bit late, and Mama wants me home soon. How about Saturday?

(7:18 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Yeah, just checked my schedule, I'm good for that, sure!

(7:20 P.M.) **Mineta: **Alright then, see you then. Later.

(7:21 P.M.) **Midoriya: **Bye! :-)

_Well, now that's over... I should probably get home. Like I told Midoriya, Mama wants me home._ Mineta turned and followed a familiar sidewalk back towards the direction to home.

**BZZZT BZZZT**

As if on cue, Mineta's phone begun to angrily vibrate in the boy's pocket. Letting out a sigh of exhaustion, he pulled it out to see who had decided to message him.

* * *

**Mama**

(7:27 P.M.) **Mama: **Minoru honey? Where are you?

(7:27 P.M.) **Mineta: **Sorry mama, was walking while texting with friends, lost track of time.

(7:27 P.M.) **Mama: **It's been hours!

(7:28 P.M.) **Mineta: **As I said, I uh, lost track of time.

(7:28 P.M.) **Mama: **I don't want you being out after dark. Where are you sweetie? I can come pick you up?

He winced internally as he glanced over the message from his concerned mother. _Villains aren't really common around these parts... I'm not a child! _He mentally smacked himself. _What am I thinking? Of course I'm a child. She's just worried, and I'm being bratty._

(7:29 P.M.) **Mineta: **I'm by the Plaza. I'll wait for you here.

(7:29 P.M.) **Mama: **Thank you sweetie. I'll be there in a few. Love you!

(7:30 P.M.) **Mineta: **Love you too.

* * *

Halting in his tracks, Mineta realized with horror that he hadn't even considered the possibility of his mother knowing about his second quirk. But what bugged at him more was a more dangerous question... _should she know? _

_What would that do to her if she knew about that? _He shuddered at the very thought of his mother being informed that her son was basically immortal. _Not immortal in a good way either, like a vampire or an anti aging quirk. _He knew he was cursed to die forever and ever. The slight increase of heartbeat whenever he was alone in public now vanished ever since he got this quirk. _Because it wouldn't matter if some random villain decided to lop my head off, I would just come back. _He shuddered. _Will I ever be able to live a normal life now?_ Before his thoughts could go any darker, he shook the disturbing imagery out of his head so it wouldn't get any worse. _No, she doesn't need to know. That would ruin her. What she doesn't know can't hurt her. I just need to sleep off this stress, then I'll be okay. I'll be okay._

Several minutes passed by painfully slow for Mineta, but finally his Mother's car pulled up to the curb he was sitting on.

As she rolled down the window to greet him, Mineta's mother frowned. "Minoru, it's already dark, I don't want you going out like this anymore."

"Alright Ma," Mineta hummed, relaxing as he finally got to get off his legs. "I won't." If he hadn't closed his eyes, he would of seen the slightly surprised look on his mother's face at the lack of an argument.

The woman softly smiled. "Thank you."

The trip home was mostly silent, and Mineta managed to trudge to his room after his body realized just how long it had been working out. His mother seemed to know just how tired he was, since she refrained from asking if he had eaten yet. He didn't even bother putting blankets on, he plopped on the bed, and passed out.

* * *

_**It felt weird being at the camp again. He shuddered as he stared at the bodies of his classmates, the Pussycats long dead. The stench made him want to heave a little, but he swallowed and kept his composure. Maybe he could stop this. Maybe he could prevent the villains from taking anymore lives. His feet felt like weights every time he took another step into the forest. "I'm sorry Iida," the boy managed to whisper. He already missed him and his hand chopping. He shuddered at the fact that all he could remember of the boy was that he had glasses and shouted a lot. Maybe it was the shock, maybe it wasn't.**_

_**Shaking off the nausea from seeing the bodies, he wandered deeper into the forest towards the sounds of the screaming. Maybe he could help.**_

_**Maybe not.**_

_**It was after several long agonizing minutes when Mineta finally spotted him limply propped up against a tree with a blood path under his legs, a telltale sign of being dragged. The grape boy rushed up to his friend, who was completely limp.**_

"_**Kaminari?" Mineta asked cautiously, almost as if he was afraid of the answer.**_

_**The blonde forced his head to face Mineta. The boy's pained features relaxed into one of joy upon seeing his friend. "M-Mineta... I th-th-thought you w-were dead m-m-man... I'm glad y-you're o-o-okay." Kaminari let out a cough. **_

_**Mineta cringed at the sight of his friend's battered body. The electric boy clearly had some lacerations, but from where was looking, it didn't look too bad. "H-Here Kaminari, let me.." He reached out his hand, offering to help his injured friend.**_

_**Kaminari hesitantly reached out to the small hand, and upon grasping it, he gasped out it pain. "Sh-Shit! W-Wait! It h-hurts."**_

_**The boy yanked his hand away from Kaminari as if he had been burned. "Ah! I'm s-sorry! Where does it hurt?"**_

"_**My b-back.." Kaminari gasped out. "H-Hold on." He let out a quiet cry of pain as he scooted away from the tree, and bent forward to expose his back. "H-H-How bad is it?"**_

_**Mineta's eyes wandered to Kaminari's back, and immediately regretted the decision. He swallowed the nausea as he looked at what was left of the poor boys back. Whatever or whoever attacked him had definitely been aiming to maim, not kill. It seemed like someone peeled off several sections of his back, exposing the red flesh underneath, still spurting blood. Mineta swallowed bile as he saw some parts of Kaminari's spine poking out, exposed. "I-It's.. bad."**_

_**Kaminari's face twisted into one of worry. "H-How bad Mineta?"**_

"_**P-Pretty bad."**_

"_**M-Mineta..." Kaminari whispered, a tear running down his battered face. "I-Is Jirou ok? I-I haven't seen her ever since the villains came. P-Please make sure she's okay... and if you see her... t-tell her that...-" **_

"_**Whoa," Mineta quickly said. "D-Don't talk like that, alright? You're g-gonna be fine. You can t-tell her when you see her."**_

_**Kaminari responded with tired sigh. "R-Right." He attempted to stand up, but quickly collapsed after letting out a quiet whine of pain. "I-I-I don't th-think I c-can move..." He shifted his eyes to the left. Where screams were coming from. "Y-You'll have to keep going w-without me."**_

_**Shaking his head violently, Mineta grasped Kaminari's hand once more. "N-No.. I can't just l-leave you man. We can d-do this!"**_

"_**Th-They can't wait for me M-Mineta. Y-You have to help them." The blonde gasped out. "G-Go. I-I-I'll be okay. I p-promise."**_

_**The look Kaminari gave Mineta made dread swirl around in his stomach. He didn't want to leave, but his friend looked in the direction of the screaming once more, worry plastered on his pale face. Sighing, Mineta released his grip. "A-All right. J-Just wait here okay? If any villains c-come by just.. play dead or something."**_

_**Kaminari coughed up some blood. "D-Don't worry. I-I'll be fine."**_

_**Taking one last look at his friend, Mineta turned and ran towards the screaming. **_

"_**Yeah..." Kaminari whispered. He shook his head. "I'll.. just.." His eyes felt pretty heavy now as he heard the sound of Mineta's footsteps fade into the background. "I'll just rest my eyes." If Mineta had stayed at least thirty seconds later, he would of noticed that Kaminari stopped breathing.**_

_**Mineta panted as he approached the area where the screaming had originally originated from, but immediately straightened his posture upon viewing the sight. **_

_**There was nothing there.**_

"_**What? But I swear I heard earlier that..." He looked around. "Hello?"**_

_**Ÿ̸̖͕̭̦̪̥̮̝̰́͜O̴̬̖̲̞͔̘̟͗͒̅̾̌̈́͋̿͜͝Ŭ̴̹̥̤͇̄͜ ̸̖͈̠̳̪͑F̵̨͕͕͚̟͌̀Ā̴͈̹͖̩̒͛̕͝I̵̪̮̓̿L̷̡̨̙̹̻̪̕ͅE̶̡̼̝͉̞̱̪̭̽͋́́̋͌͊̓̋̚̕ͅḒ̴̾̊̾͘ ̸̡̳͙͓͉̟̦̤͈̄͜ͅŤ̵̨̨̛͙̙̑̔̒̈́̚͠͝H̴̻̲͉̘̖̃͐̀̌̈́E̶̠̹̺̍͜͠M̵̢̢̭̦͚̖͙̱̲̜͂̽̽͌̏͐͑͝͝ ̶̧̛̣̩̼̤̯̤͕͎̽͒̋̉͊͛̾͋͂͝M̵̲̳̮̭̫̖̿̇̚Ì̵̫̞̎̾̚̚Ń̴̺͔̖̘Ȩ̵̺͙̭̲̘̂͐͋̑̈́́̂̚̕T̸̢̗̒́̀͌͑̓̀̅Ä̵̝̘̯͓̲̤̗͎͙́͑͒̋͛́**_

_**Letting out a cry of surprise, Mineta's eyes snapped down to see that a black sludge had taken hold of his right leg. It was cold, wet, and constricted around his leg so hard it hurt. "What the hell?" He yelled in surprise. Where had this thing come from? He let out a cry of agony, as it suddenly felt that hundreds of little needles were being stabbed into his leg.**_

_**Ỷ̵̞̘̪̳̼͈̝̈́̄̅̎̒͑͘͘Ớ̴̮̮͉͙̥̯̤̮̎̅̈́̑͊͐̃̓͠Ü̷̬͓͍̈̾͑͠ ̴̧̺͖̺̦̱̻̤̇̿͛̃̋̚C̵̡͍͇̙̗̍̔̍̑A̶̡̬̣̞̰̝̩̫͉͊̑̊̉͐͜N̶̢̢͕̱͔̭̱̈́̈́̊͐̈̐̅͠ͅ'̷̧͎̦̟̱̣̗̤̗̯̊̔̿̈̾̆̅͝T̵̫̞͚̆͊̔̊̌̉̃̃ ̶͙͓̝̭̼̫̣͇̓̿͜ͅŞ̶̛͖̪̻̭͓͈̺̺̀̅̉̔̆̿͂̀͂̚Å̵̞̋̐V̷̛͕̹̬͈͚̣̫̩̦̽́̍̐̏͑̽̈E̸͎̹̯͍̋̅̆͌̀͒̓͑̏͋̌ ̶̨̝͇̩̂̄̏́̇̔́̆͘A̴̛̟̘͚̲̽N̵̢̨̛̮͉̠̤̝̻̦̉͗̉̀͝Ý̷̧̗̝͉̺̗̊͌Ó̷͕͈̟̲̖͚̗̻͙̀̐̅̏̂́́͝N̵̢̨̠̲͉̗̻̩̜̐͂̈́̎È̵̫̳̎͐̏̄**_

_**The sludge had tightened its grip, starting to creep up to his thigh. **_

"_**Get the hell off!" Mineta screamed, tears running down his face from the pain. It was just hurting to much. He made the mistake of trying to grab it to tear it off, but the black substance latched onto his hand in a tight grip. **_

_**The stinging increased tenfold, making Mineta unintentionally let out a scream of agony as the dark sludge traveled up his arm.**_

"_**HELP!" He screamed desperately as he attempted to fight off... whatever the hell this thing was. He yelled, hoping someone, ANYONE, would hear. "HELP! PLEASE HELP ME! HELP ME!" **_

_**The sludge was undeterred by the boy's yelling, continued up to his face. It latched on, and the piercing needles sensation started again. **_

_**Mineta felt like he was on fire. The sensation now felt like burning needles injecting acid into him. He fell over on his side as he began to writhe in **__**pain, the only thing visible was his frail back and his grapes.**_

_**W̸̨̼͔̤̭̮̻͇̼͌͑̃͘͝ͅO̶̱̩̿̀̓͐͋̓̓́̀̕ͅR̵̙͖͉̔̄̃͊̽̑̋͐͘͜͝͝T̵̪̲͖̯̹͕͍͑ͅH̸̖̱͔̖̯̗̤̥̥͎̺͌̍͗́̇̄̽̆͠͝L̷̨̛͔͔͚̈͆̔̈́͐͋̐̓̐Ę̶̻̖͙̩̮̮̪̰̾̓̈́S̴̻̔̊̽̋͋̃͘̕͝Ş̸̢̡̢̬̞̙͇͉͉̔̎́̈͐̑ͅ ̶̡̫̑́̒̐̄̑̆̽̎̈**_

_**His screams were muffled as the sludge began to melt away at his face. Everything hurt. He screamed as the sludge melted his eyes away.**_

* * *

"Minoru!"

Mineta's eyes flew open, and he abruptly sat up. However, he only got halfway up, as his forehead nailed into something rather solid. The object in front of him let out a quiet cry of pain.

_Huh? What's going on?_ Mineta squinted his eyes, and realized with horror that the object in front of him was his_ mother. _"M-Mom!" The boy squeaked, "I-I'm sorry!"

The woman simply waved it off. "It's okay sweetie." She looked up to him, concern in his eyes. "Are you okay sweetie? You looked like you were having a nightmare."

_Nightmare? _Mineta thought to himself curiously. _I was having a nightmare? _

"_HELP ME!"_

Mineta gasped as the events from the previous nights piled onto him once more. Him running. Him leaving Kaminari to die. His death. His eyes widened with horror as he began to hyperventilate. _I failed, I died and I failed I failed_

"M-Minoru!

His mother's soft voice momentarily shook him out of his stupor. "M-Mom..." He gasped. "What about the exams?!"

His mother took notice of the slight desperation, although she kept a straight face. "R-Relax Minrou! You passed them! You're okay."

_I passed them? _His face relaxed at the new revelation. _So this time it was a dream. Thank god. _

Although his calm mood immediately shifted when he realized that...

_Today I have to tell Midoriya about how my quirk works._

* * *

**Yup. Next chapter is what you think it is, be ready for the angst yall! Sorry that the chap took a while, I know you guys have been waiting. If you liked this, please Review/Follow/Fav! It really encourages me to keep writing! Also, idc what happens in the manga, I love the idea of Mineta calling his mother Mama, even as a young teen. It's just so damn wholesome and it melts my heart :D**

**Now, onto the reviews!**

ILiekFisheschapter 25 . Oct 4

**Yeah, I probably won't do it anytime soon, since you're like the only one who acknowledged it.**

BIG BadJchapter 25 . Oct 5

**Thanks! I'll do my best for the next upcoming chapters! Always nice to be appreciated :D**

decodelifehackerchapter 25 . Oct 5

**Well, bashing Mineta is pretty popular in the manga, and in the fandom in general, so it's not surprising to me how they'd feel. Hopefully they'll soften up.**

ice cream of the godschapter 25 . Oct 6

**Glad my writing was able to actually evict emotion out of someone... Heh, didn't know I was decent enough of a writer to pull that off! Well, it's gonna happen, so buckle up for hurt/comfort and tons of angst!**

bajychapter 25 . Oct 6

**Ah, my mistake. Sorry miss! XD Anyways, I guess that makes sense, and don't worry because Mineta's struggles aren't even close to ending, we need more angst so stay tuned!**

CrystalKuronuma chapter 25 . Oct 6

**Sorry, I put it through google translate, so I did the best I could. I'm glad you found this fanfic good enough for IzuOcha tastes! Don't worry about that, you'll see what Mineta does when stuff happens, can't say too much without spoilers ;)**

Najeechapter 25 . Oct 10

**Thanks! I'm glad you liked this chapter! But Sero is referring back then, and in the episodes on the anime he called him scum, so I'm trying to have them stick in character. Maybe smug Mineta would shout, but he's being the bigger man in this situation for the most part. Thanks, I'm trying to put my boy Mineta in positive light.**

**Well, that's it for tonight! If you liked this, as always, Review/Follow/Fav, and I'll see you all on the flipside! Ciao!**


	27. Hey

**Hi guys. I know you were expecting a new chapter, but recent events have put a bit of a halt on my writing. I'm sorry. I know the last thing you guys wanted was another update post, but please hear me out. The chapter is basically done, but something is missing that I still have yet to put in. Corona virus has been starting to affect my area, and alot of people including myself are a bit frightened. Family members also are stricken with this disease, although I am lucky enough to still be healthy and corona free (For now). **

**One of another issue is that I've been having alot of pressure to get this out, I see your dm and reviews, I'm alright as of right now, and I'm touched that some of you went out of your way to check up on me. I am working on it, progress is good, but I don't like to set a date for myself to finish, it adds tension and I don't like rushing my work. I know it's been months, and I'm asking you to bear with me, I know I've said it before, but things aren't going great. It's just a bad time. **

**Today is also the day I posted this first chapter, so happy b-day to this story I guess! I promise I will post the next chapter hopefully soon, its just I'm not satisfied with it yet, and I'm doing the best I can. I won't blame you for unfollowing or unfaving this story, its just... not a good time for my family right now. I hope that whoever decides to bear with me and stay with the story will enjoy when the next chapter is posted, I've put alot of effort into it. I dunno if I'll delete this update post since the very important context. Until next time guys, I'll see you later, and I hope to see the people who are weary but still decided to stay for the next chapter.**

**Cheers. **


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